Her House Pet
by yumekos-meari
Summary: Mary Saotome has never been one to kneel before others. That being said, her brief stint as a house pet has her reeling from her loss in standing. But not for long. Yumeko Jabami has since become a house pet. Seeing Yumeko Jabami kneeling before her might just be enough to take her mind off her bruised ego.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Thinking back, it started with minor, menial tasks.

" _Grab me some melon bread, will you Yumeko?"_

" _Of course Saotome-san!"_

" _Oh, you know what? I'm thirsty. How about some red tea to go with it?"_

" _Right away!"_

It was almost too easy. Ordering around Yumeko was almost second-nature to Mary and the girl was all-too-willing to fulfill her house pet status. If there was one thing she learned about the new girl, it was that she always did everything 100%.

These tasks were just small ways for Mary to get back at the infuriating humiliation of becoming a house pet at the hands of Jabami Yumeko. Those few weeks of being bullied by the very low-lifes she had once ruled before was embarrassing enough, but to have been put in that position by a mere _transfer student_?—no.

No one controlled Mary's life but herself.

"…Saotome-sama, what would you have me do for you, please?"

The question was barely a whisper, but it was enough to break her out of her musings. She dropped her eyes to the sight in front of her.

Yumeko was panting—out of breath, kneeling at her feet waiting for her master's next command. Her bare breasts were heaving with every second that passed. Small traces of sweat were weaving its way down the slight of her neck. Her hands were clasped behind her back, pushing her chest that much closer to her master's devouring eyes. Her knees—spread obscenely apart, enough for the scent of her desire to fill the air.

It was a sight to make anyone give in, but Mary wasn't just anyone.

The blonde leaned back on her hands as she shifted her right leg to cross over her left. She watched as Yumeko's dilated pupils followed her every move.

The girl's thighs, still encased by her signature sheer black tights, were trembling from the effort of holding her uncomfortable position on the floor, but still—she didn't waver. _Good girl,_ she thought.

So yeah, it might have started with minor, menial tasks… but that was _before._

That was _before_ she started to notice that crazed look in the house pet's eyes every time she returned with whatever snack or chore she had completed for Mary that day. With every terse word she spoke to the girl, the more intense the girl's stare would grow. It was the same look of mounting euphoria that Yumeko would don with every risk she encountered in her compulsive gambling matches. Mary would come to recognize that look as pure _ecstasy…_ it was _lewd…_ and it was turning her on.

But now? Things were different—to say the least.

The blonde had spent the past half-hour watching Yumeko crawl around her dorm room tidying up the mess Mary had left specifically for this purpose. She made sure she had _a perfect view_ from where she was sitting.

The sight of the girl's black lace thong, drenched with wetness was seared into her brain. The wetness had started to seep down the sides of Yumeko's thighs, running into the garter of her leggings with every drag of her knees and shins across the wooden floor. Her pouting mouth was parted slightly, just enough for little sighs of pleasure to escape from those lips. She could tell that just having Mary's eyes on her was leaving an effect on the girl.

But Mary was planning to do more than just lay her eyes on that girl. _Oh,_ she had _big plans_ for her.

Tilting her head to the side, she felt the brush of her black, lace ribbons in her hair against the coarse material of her uniform blazer. She lifted up a single finger and ordered with a slight quirk of her lips, "Come here, kitty kitty."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

" _Come here, kitty kitty."_

The hurried sound of Yumeko's palms and shins scuffing across the floor was like music to Mary's ears. She swore she would never get sick of that sound.

"Hmm. So eager to please aren't you, little one?" Mary hummed. The blonde knew that the only time she could ever speak to Yumeko like this was in the seclusion of her own dorm room. _She wanted to savor the moment_. Reaching forward she let her hand fall through those luscious strands of black hair. Before her hand got very far, her house pet leaned into the palm as it reached the curve of her cheek.

"Anything for you, Saotome-sama," Yumeko answered dutifully. Mary's thumb traced the faint blush spread across the girl's cheek bones.

"Anything…?" Mary let the question roll off her tongue. It lingered in the air as if she was actually contemplating what to do next. In reality, her mind had been running over the _hundreds_ of scenarios that could play out in that very room since the moment she woke up that morning. Looking into those dark, swirling eyes in front of her, she knew that Yumeko had probably done the same.

Curling her fingers, Mary grabbed a handful of the girl's hair. She tugged firmly—enough to a elicit a gasp from those sinful lips and said, "Get on the bed, little one."

Still sitting at the edge of her bed, she watched as the naked girl did as she commanded. With her breasts swinging under her, Yumeko quickly positioned herself on all fours facing Mary with eager eyes. "You've been a good girl so far, Yumeko," she said as her eyes raked down the delicious sight before her, "you cleaned my room _much_ faster than yesterday."

The girl sat back, resting on her shins, "Thank you, Saotome-sama. I'm glad to have been of service to you."

Her voice was smooth and unwavering. But Mary knew it was all an act—the other girl was a master at bluffing, after all. Her eyes flitted down to the house pet's jaw. She could see that the girl was clenching her teeth. Further down. The girl's chest was rising rapidly, uncontrolled. Further down. Her underwear was _soaked._

 _Perfect._

"Yes. Not bad… for a house pet," she said as she reached for Yumeko's breasts. The girl gasped.

"Mmmm, I'm sorry little one," she whispered, "are my hands too cold for you?"

"N-no, Saotome-sama. No, they're perfect," Yumeko panted. Her breaths were becoming shallow. The blonde knew that it was because she was caressing one of her favorite points of pleasure. She knew that if she wanted Yumeko to moan, all she had to do was—

"Ohhh…" _Jackpot._

One of her hands had moved down to the house pet's stockings; dragging painted nails across the fabric covering her upper thighs. Never quite reaching where Yumeko wanted her most. It was intoxicating watching the girl's jaw grow slack with every movement of her hands.

Her thumb swiped across her nipple. _A gasp_. Fingers dragging upward, closer to the junction of her thighs. _Another moan_. Mary couldn't get enough of the power she had over the girl. She needed more. Her touch became more purposeful. Sliding the hand she had on Yumeko's breast to the girl's back, she forcefully molded their bodies together in one swift movement.

"Oh, please Saotome-sama! Please touch me," her hoarse voice tickled across Mary's lips. Their foreheads were mashed against each other—so close that she could feel the heat radiating off of Yumeko's gorgeous body.

"Now why would I do that, Mittens?" Despite her words, Mary moved her hands to the curve of the girl's ass, slipping her fingers under the fabric of the lacy thong.

"B-because I've been a good girl…?" Yumeko trailed off. Her hands were trembling from where they were perched on Mary's shoulders.

A laugh escaped from the blonde's lips. "I said you were good, _so far_ , little one. But you seemed to have created another mess this whole while," she emphasized her point by twisting her fingers in the lace and tore the flimsy garment from the girl's body.

The throaty moan that ripped from Yumeko's throat was absolutely _obscene_. Mary quickly covered the girl's open mouth with her hand. _Shit, the whole student council probably heard that from here_ , Mary thought.

"Tsk, Mittens. You know better than that," her free hand moved to pinch her rosy nipple. She watched as the dark eyes in front of her rolled back in pleasure. But still, she made no sound.

"That's better. Now, as I was saying…" Mary used her leg to further spread the girl's knees apart. She watched as Yumeko's wet pussy began dripping onto the blanket stretched across her bed. _Fuck yes,_ she thought.

But the house pet wasn't the only one in the room that was affected. Mary took the hand that was still gripping her shoulder and interlocked their fingers, guiding them underneath her own skirt. Still interlaced, their fingers found wetness pooled between her thighs.

"You've made quite a mess, Yumeko. Aren't you going to clean that up?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

" _You've made quite a mess, Yumeko. Aren't you going to clean that up?"_

Mary's thigh muscles clenched with the effort of keeping her legs from squeezing together. The feel of their fingers against her pussy was threatening to tear down her resolve.

She watched Yumeko's eyes as they darted from one piece of her clothing to the next. _For a talented gambler like her, she sure is damn easy to read right now,_ Mary thought. She knew exactly what the other girl was thinking—she wanted to rip the blonde's uniform off. To her credit, Yumeko was persistent. This wasn't the first time she had tried to see Mary's bared body. But in this room, Mary made the rules; and rule number one was simple: _Yumeko would never see her completely naked_. That's just how things operated in this room. So long as they were in here, Mary always took the upper hand and Yumeko would always let her. It didn't stop her from occasionally testing Mary's dominance, though.

"Well?" Mary pushed. Before she even had time to think another thought, Yumeko thrust their intertwined fingers deep into her pussy. "Mmm…finally." She tilted her head back, closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of their fingers penetrating her. Yumeko always managed to surprise Mary with how quickly she was able to learn just what she liked.

Their bodies were still unbelievably close. She could feel the other girl's breasts rubbing against the buttons of her white uniform top. Dropping the hand that was covering the girl's mouth, she guided Yumeko's lips to the pulse point on her neck. Just as the house pet's weakness was the tops of her thighs, Mary's neck was hers. The girl already knew what to do. She could feel her painting her skin with her tongue. Long swipes interrupted by nips and bites—but nothing that would lead to visible marks on the skin (an unspoken rule, this time).

Mary could feel the tension in her body steadily rising. Yumeko was hitting a particularly sensitive spot inside her with their fingers. _Fuck_. She squeezed her eyes shut hoping that she'd be able to stifle the orgasm that the girl was coaxing out of her. But as much as she hated to admit it, the feeling of Yumeko's tongue combined with the steady pumping of their fingers was more than enough to get her off.

Just as her house pet's teeth sank into Mary's soft skin, the blonde's head snapped back, her body arching and contorting to fit against Yumeko's hovering figure. Her mouth was open in a silent moan, but the movement of her hips gave away her pleasure as they spasmed against their fingers. Her pussy was _tight_ , squeezing both of them with enough force to keep them from moving the tiniest inch. After what felt like hours, her body began to slowly wind down from her orgasm.

The blonde finally opened her eyes when she felt Yumeko removing their fingers to gather up the juices that had coated her outer lips. The girl leaned back and laid down on the bed bringing Mary's still-wet hand with her. She watched with satisfaction as her house pet did as she said and cleaned up the mess she had made. Yumeko alternated between sucking on Mary's fingers and licking every last drop from her own hand.

"Did I do well, Saotome-sama?"

She let out a small giggle. "Good behavior always gets rewarded, Yumeko," the blonde sing-songed. The girl's red-tinged, lustful eyes lightened up at the words. She responded by opening her legs wide and planting her feet on either side of Mary.

Looking down at the absolute _feast_ laid before her, Mary had no idea where to start. Yumeko's pussy was glistening from arousal, but her breasts were practically begging to be paid attention. Her gorgeous, shiny black hair was fanned out around her framing her curvy, full body. And oh—her lips…they were so plump and puffy; probably from sucking on their fingers. Mary just wanted to lay her body on top of hers, lean into those lips and kis-

 _Wait, no. Absolutely not. Mary wasn't thinking of doing that, was she? After all, she was the one who put rule number two in place…_

Shaking those treacherous thoughts from her head, Mary grabbed Yumeko's hands and placed them on her own thighs. "If you move your hands at all, _even just a little_ , I will stop," she warned as she pushed her legs out wider and settled in between her thighs. Mary looked up in time to see Yumeko nodding her head fervently and licking her lips in anticipation.

"Yes, Saotom-" The tongue swiping through her folds cut Yumeko's response short with a whimper. Mary smirked. Wanting to elicit more sounds from the girl, she molded her lips around the girl's clit and sucked. "Mmmnhf," Yumeko stifled another moan.

"Be careful, little one," Mary paused to circle her clit with her tongue, "Don't moan too loud or your precious Student Council President will hear you." The words were short and spoken with bitterness laced in her voice.

It was clear that Yumeko picked up on the sudden change in tone. Her eyebrows began to furrow and her mouth opened as if to argue. But before she could say anything, Mary moved her palms from under Yumeko's ass, wrapped her fingers around the girl's hips, and _pulled_. Her tongue was flat against the girl's clit as she tugged the girl's hips against her mouth.

It was more than enough to distract Yumeko from the sound of the whimpers she was letting out. Internally, Mary was relieved. She didn't want to hear what the girl was planning to say.

Trying to recover from her lapse in judgement, she decided to bury her words with more of Yumeko's stifled moans. She lifted her chin and slowly pressed two fingers at the girl's entrance. "Ohh…" She lashed her tongue against her clit. "Mmmm…" Curled her fingers. "Mmmnf!" Yumeko's fingers strained against her thighs, struggling to keep them from weaving into the blonde mane between her legs. Her face was flushed from the exertion; a natural glow lighting up her skin. Mary busied herself by increasing the pace of her tongue lest she admit something stupid ( _yet, again_ ) to the other girl.

"Oh Saotome-sama, please? I'm going to come!" Yumeko's body was exuding pleasure. From the angle of her neck—head pressing into the pillows beneath her to her abdominal muscles, spasming from the force of her impending climax. It was a mental picture that Mary would save in her mind for lonelier times. "Please Saotome-sama!" But right now, there was a girl writhing under her tongue that could only reach release with her permission. The thought of dragging it out longer crossed her mind, but Yumeko did as she had asked, after all.

"Come for me, _kitten."_

The girl's hips shot off of the bed from the strength of her orgasm with Mary's mouth following suit; chasing the girl's pleasure with a soothing tongue. She watched those obedient hands grasping for purchase on the slinky material of her black leggings, but never once leaving her thighs. In acknowledgement of her good behavior, Mary lapped at the come dripping from her pussy—a taste that she would crave again, soon enough. Yumeko's eyes were screwed shut. Her mouth set in a sated smile, gasping through the aftershocks of her pleasure.

It was a long time before her hips finally settled onto the bed, again. Her arms hung limply at her sides from pure exertion. Her eyes still shut, but visibly relaxed.

Mary sat up from where she was lying, licking her lips of the essence coating her mouth. Adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, heart pumping from the thrill of topping the other girl. She watched the steady rise and fall of the girl's chest; the sated smile still lingering on her face. A soft sound escaping from her lips. _Was she snoring?_

"Yumeko?" she nudged the girl's leg with her hand.

No response.

Mary glanced at the clock sitting on her desk. _12:57 AM._

She looked back to the sleeping girl on her bed, "Well, shit."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

" _Well, shit."_

Mary was at a loss for words. The girl had _actually_ passed out after her orgasm. Judging by the way Yumeko was sprawled across her bedspread, she must have really exhausted the girl.

She had to admit, she was kind of impressed with herself.

Suppressing the surge of pride she felt in the moment, Mary spurred into action. It was quickly approaching one in the morning, after all. She rushed over to her dresser grabbing sleep clothes, her toiletries, and a wash cloth; all but sprinting out the door towards the bathroom. Pausing with her hand on the door knob, she spared a glance over her shoulder to the girl on her bed— _Yep, still there. Alright, then._

Mary took a moment to lean against the closed door. She felt ridiculous for running away from the sleeping girl, but she had no idea what to do. After all, she had made it clear that Yumeko was never to sleep over in her dorm room— _rule number three._

She let out a deep sigh walking out into the dimly lit hallway. As she passed each door, she silently thanked her dorm mates for choosing to visit their homes this weekend. Just the thought of them hearing the sounds coming from her room during the past hour or so brought a blush to her face.

Finally reaching the bathroom, she put down her bundle on the shelf next to the sink. Methodically, she began her end-of-the night routine. Having structure in her life always helped to center her mind in times of disarray. As she brushed her teeth, she let her thoughts wander back to the events that led to this moment.

 _Mary turned away from the sickeningly sweet pair giggling at each other. "I'll be off now…" With briefcase in hand, all she wanted to do was relax in the comfort of her room after an_ extremely _successful gamble. "Oof!" The force of another body slamming into her back caught her off guard._

 _Her face heated up at the feel of Yumeko's breasts pressing into her back. Turning her head towards the girl, she blurted, "What?!"_

" _The game became exciting all thanks to your proposal, thank you very much!"_

 _Yumeko's hands and arms were wrapped around her torso. "Get off!" She was all-too-aware that Suzui was still watching them interact._

" _If possible, may I refer to you as 'Mary-san' from now on?" Her face was pressed next to hers, the words being said loud and clear, but Mary's mind was a chaotic mess._ Sensory overload, _Mary thought_.

" _Huh? Why!?"_

" _Because we are friends now, right?" Yumeko brought Mary's hand up from her side, cradling it between both of hers. Her eyes were practically sparkling with every word coming from her mouth. Mary could feel the cold, metal kiss of Yumeko's thumb ring pressing into her skin. It was a mocking reminder that being_ friends _is the only thing that Yumeko wanted them to be._ _Not that Mary wanted more than that. Whatever._

 _It didn't stop her from wondering what that ring meant to Yumeko, though._

 _Flustered, hoping that those thoughts hadn't somehow shown on her face, Mary gave her answer, "Well..."_

 _She looked to the side. Suzui was still gawking at them. Ugh. "That's fine, I guess."_

 _The girl gave a gleeful jump, rushing in to give Mary another hug, "Thank you so much Mary-san!"_

 _Mary tried to ignore the fluttering in the middle of her chest at the feel of the girl embracing her. She tried even_ harder _to ignore the growing arousal she felt at the press of her breasts against hers._

 _It was easier than she thought it would be; instead focusing on the unmistakable feel of a folded playing card in her hand. Mary had felt the girl slipping it into her hand earlier when she had taken it between hers._

 _She dropped the mysterious card into her blazer pocket wanting to leave now more than ever, now that Yumeko had sprung_ this _on her._

" _Get off me!"_

Mary spit the toothpaste out of her mouth and rinsed with water. She grabbed the washcloth from her bundle and began to lather it with soap and water.

It was a small thing, really: Yumeko sleeping in her room…on her bed…naked. But it's been two weeks since the day she had given her that playing card. Two weeks since they've started _whatever_ _this was._

Never in the span of those two weeks did Yumeko break rule number three. Usually, after Mary was satisfied with her house pet for the night, she would leave the room with her bundle of toiletries and sleep clothes. While she was in the bathroom going through her nightly routine, Yumeko would leave Mary's bedroom and head downstairs to her own. The only evidence of her ever being there would be the distinct smell of sex lingering in the room.

So it was jarring, to say the least, when Yumeko decided to choose tonight to have a naked sleepover in her room.

Mary shook her head. She was a smart girl. Something as trivial as this wasn't going to faze her. She set aside the washcloth and began to unbutton her blazer, slipping it off her shoulders and hanging it on the door. Her fingers, accustomed to this routine, ran through her uniform tie letting it fall from her neck. One by one, she popped the buttons of her whi-

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Mary's hands hurried to unbutton the rest of her white button-up as fast as she possibly could. All the while, her eyes were fixated on the skin of her slender shoulder. It seemed Yumeko-the-house-pet was turning into Yumeko-the-rule-breaker.

There, on the previously _un-marked_ skin of her left shoulder, was a Yumeko-sized bite mark.

She furiously wiped at the blemish with the washcloth hoping it was some sort of trick of the eye, but the abrasive contact only made the skin redder.

"No! This can't be happening," Mary said aloud, "What is this girl trying to do?!"

Hurriedly, she finished undressing and wiped down the rest of her body as if it would erase everything that had gone wrong that night. She threw on her sleeping clothes, grabbed her belongings, and ran back to her room.

Bursting into the room, Mary was ready to lecture the house pet on the importance of upholding their rules, but all the scathing things she planned to say stopped in her mouth.

Yumeko was laying on her side with her knees drawn up to her chest, arms clutching a spare pillow against her stomach, and her lips drawn into a cute little pout. _Adorable._ The sight made Mary's heart drop. She had only seen one other girl sleep in that position before.

Golden eyes glazed over as she imagined dark blue strands of hair instead of black. Waves of flowing hair instead of the sleek, straight locks that were currently strewn across her pillows.

Mary collapsed into the desk chair beside her, overwhelmed by the sudden flashback running through her mind. She reached into her desk drawer pushing aside a folded playing card and found what she was looking for.

She always worried that the blush pink color of the headband would fade as time went by. But as her thumb brushed against the flowers adorning the accessory, Mary was relieved to see that not one thing had changed about it.

With her back to the sleeping girl on the bed, she couldn't help but whisper her name, "Tsuzura."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

" _Tzusura."_

She hadn't said her name aloud in so long. It felt almost… _foreign_ on her tongue. She squeezed her eyes shut willing for that familiarity to come back.

" _Would you please be my friend!" Tsuzura's body was bent low in a bow. Mary couldn't even see her face with how far she was leaning over. Her bangs obscured her face, but she could see how tightly she clenched her fists in front of her chest. She was rambling on in that insecure voice of hers that sounded_ nothing _like the confident girl she had known in elementary school. "Sorry, forget I said anything."_

The memory of that day danced behind her eyelids and her heart clenched at how real it felt.

Giving one last look, she put Tsuzura's hair clip back inside of her drawer taking her textbooks out instead. She wasn't sure she wanted to go to bed just yet now that her past and present had figuratively met.

Mary decided she could read the chapters that were assigned for the next few weeks in the meantime. She had stayed up far later before, anyhow. As one of the very few scholarship students at Hyakkaou, it was imperative that she always stayed ahead of the curriculum. It wasn't easy what with all the gambling she had to do in order to pay the student council, but she did it. It's not like she had a choice.

" _Sure. I'll be your friend. However, I need something from you. You need to stop being a cat." She didn't like the way that Tsuzura was standing there. Her shoulders were hunched over and her eyes were afflicted; as if she was waiting to accept an attack from another snobby piece-of-shit classmate at their school. "We won't be made fools of again."_

Her thoughts drifted to the girl in bed behind her. Somehow, Yumeko was able to transition into the school with ease. She didn't bat an eye at the immorality of how things operated here. In fact, she seemed to accept it as part of the gambling experience.

Even the girl's first match was a huge success.She managed to see through Mary's ruse on the first day of school leading to Mary falling in 8.8 million debt. The irony of how similar their first days of school at Hyakkaou did not escape her.

Mary hung her head. She was a fool for underestimating the girl. She had been as stupidly naïve as Kokoro Aiura had been by targeting the new girl.

The new girl which she didn't even know anything about. _Where did she even transfer from? Surely, there aren't other schools like this one. How does she gamble so effortlessly? Without hesitation?_ Mary stilled. _The girl is practically a complete stranger,_ she thought.

Well, that was a lie. She knew that Yumeko liked getting her hair pulled. She knew that Yumeko liked being taken in her mouth more than being fingered. She knew that Yumeko valued foreplay almost as much as she valued the actual orgasm. But beyond the acts they've done together in this room? Mary didn't know much. It shouldn't bother her, but it did.

In an effort to distract herself from _those_ thoughts, she went back to reading her textbook.

" _I'll do my best! I'll work hard and get out of being a house pet!"_

The sound of rustling sheets woke Mary up with a start. She looked up at the clock on her bed, _3:15 AM._

"Ugh," she groaned. The page of her textbook stuck to her cheek as she lifted her head from the desk. _Page 506?_ She hadn't even got any substantial reading done.

Arching her shoulders back and lifting her arms above her head, she stretched feeling both the soreness from the awkward sleeping position and the delicious aches left from a proper orgasm.

She reached for the ribbons in her hair, undoing them carefully and brushing her hair out with her comb. After a quick braid, she set her textbooks aside on the table and reached for the light switch actively ignoring the fact that she was going to sleep next to Yumeko for the night. _It's not a big deal. It's really not._

Except it was, because her bed was barely a full-sized mattress and Yumeko had shifted into a position that could only be described as a drunken starfish. Her arms and legs were splayed out in every direction leaving only a _miniscule_ sliver of space that Mary was not flexible enough to maneuver into.

"Even while sleeping this girl manages to get in the way," Mary dragged a hand down her face. "It's your goddamned bed Mary, take it for yourself!"

With renewed vigor, she stomped over to the bed and pushed at the girl's shoulder and hip until she rolled over with a particularly loud snore. _Seriously? Not even_ that _woke her up?!_ She reached for the blanket underneath Yumeko and made to pull it over both of them. It was then that she realized the girl was still wearing her thigh-high stockings.

Mary absolutely detested having dirty "day clothes" touching the middle sheet of her bed. Sleeping clothes didn't count. Her lips pursed thinking back to a conversation she had a long time ago.

" _Mary-chan…that doesn't make much sense. Doesn't your uniform touch your bed a million times in a week? We sit on your bed more than we sit at the desk._ _Plus,_ _you throw your briefcase on your pillow_ everyday _once we get in the room—do you know how dirty that thing is?"_

Tsuzura always made fun of her for even caring, but the thought of sleeping on dirty sheets made her skin crawl. She reached for the girl's stocking and began to slip it off of her legs.

"Mmm…"

Mary's eyes shot up to the sleeping girl.

"Yumeko?" Mary whispered. _Was she fucking with her?_

No response.

Shrugging, she slipped off the other stocking and chucked both of them into the darkness behind her.

"Mmm, Mary-san," the girl quietly murmured. Mary looked at the girl's face. She had definitely heard correctly this time. Yumeko had never called her 'Mary-san' in this room before, it was always 'Saotome-sama'. _Is she sleep talking?_

Choosing to blame it on her sleep-deprived brain, Mary brought the covers up over both of them and settled into bed. Given the small mattress size, she had no choice but to lay on her side behind Yumeko—with their bodies parallel to one another.

Fucking? She could do. But, cuddling? She hadn't done that in a while.

Internally, Mary groaned. She glared at the back of Yumeko's head wondering how she managed to cause memories of Tsuzura to bombard her all in one night without even being awake.

The staring contest she had with the black blob of hair in front of her was interrupted by the feeling of Yumeko's ass rubbing against the front of her sleep shorts. "Mmm," Yumeko hummed.

 _Well, there's no mistaking that,_ Mary mused, her anger dissipating in an instant. _Technically… it's not cuddling if one of us has an orgasm, right?_

Normally, she wouldn't think twice about initiating anything with her house pet. But under the cover of darkness with only the blue-tinted moonlight lighting up her room, it felt entirely different from all of the other times they were in bed.

 _We'd just be fucking, not cuddling._ Nodding, she decided that her logic was sound.

With that settled, she experimentally placed her fingers on the curve of Yumeko's waist. The girl responded with a forceful roll of her hips. Naturally, she wanted more.

Inching forward, she slid her hand to the middle of her stomach tracing shapes on the taut skin under her fingertips. Mary smiled to herself drawing a number "3" with her index finger. It reminded her of their little trick they used against that oaf, Kiwatari. It felt like ages ago.

Yumeko was steadily rolling her hips now—almost in time with the figures she was drawing on her stomach. She dragged her hand, achingly slow, to the girl's breast continuing to trace her fingers in nonsensical patterns across her nipple.

"Hnh," Yumeko's breath was faltering with every trail she left on her skin. While her right hand moved to palm her breast, Mary moved her left arm to slide under the girl's neck and placed her hand on her chest. She pulled their bodies tight against one another relishing in the body heat she felt under the covers. "Fuck, _yes Mary-san_."

Mary couldn't stop her own hips from rolling at that. She pulled back the hair covering the girl's face and leaned in close, licking at the shell of her ear. Her hand idly moved to the girl's neck softly stroking the skin there while she nibbled at the girl's ear lobe.

 _Just fucking, not cuddling._

Her hand at Yumeko's neck slid up past her chin to trace supple lips. She felt the puffs of air escaping her mouth with every smothered moan she pushed down. Mary dipped her fingers into the girl's mouth, a waiting tongue coming to greet the familiar guests. Pleased with their reception, she took her fingers back letting them skate down the girl's chin down to her neck and further down to her chest.

Mary could feel Yumeko's heart beating faster as she passed her ribcage. She continued her trip down the girl's heated body, almost lazily, taking her time to feel every reaction Yumeko was giving her.

When she reached the apex of her hips, Mary latched her lips onto the bare shoulder in front of her, letting her tongue explore its smooth expanse. Her fingers dipped into the wetness she knew she'd find while her other hand moved to pinch at Yumeko's nipple. Unsurprisingly, the girl bucked her hips against Mary. Her eyebrows were knit together, sweat gathering on her forehead. She was biting her lip to drown the sounds of pleasure wanting to escape from her throat.

This time, Mary didn't bother to tease Yumeko. She rubbed fast circles against the girl's clit stopping only to dip into her entrance with fast pumps of her fingers. Mary alternated between the two never letting Yumeko get used to the ministrations.

With how close they were to each other, she could feel the force of her own thrusts into the girl's dripping pussy. She drove her fingers into her harder, pushing the girl's ass flush against her hot sex.

"Oh, _fuck_! Oh, Mary-san, please," Yumeko whispered into the heated air around them.

The slick heat of Yumeko's pussy enveloping her fingers was driving her crazy. She thrust her hips into the girl's ass pushing her fingers even deeper; feeling the spot inside her that she knew would push Yumeko over the edge.

Mary pushed against the body writhing in front of her, grinding her pussy on her ass to chase her own orgasm she felt rising in her spine. The stimulation was too intense—she could feel Yumeko's body tensing against hers, her pussy becoming impossibly tight...

Her eyes lost focus. Her body became rigid as her head snapped back in a silent moan.

Faintly, she could feel the girl in her arms twitching with every wave of her climax. It was hard to concentrate considering her orgasm was making its way through each of her limbs like an electric shock to her core.

They were both breathing hard, panting with the effort of letting pleasure flow through their bodies.

When it was clear Yumeko was still trembling, Mary carefully slid her fingers from her entrance up to her clit, rubbing in circles to help her come down easier.

Slowly, their breaths calmed to a steady, quiet pace.

Her one arm was still wrapped under Yumeko's neck, but she had no energy to try to untangle herself from their pseudo-embrace. Despite her mind sending her angry distress signals about letting that happen, her eyes fluttered with fatigue.

Mary's eyes slipped shut for the second time that night, but not before she caught a glimpse of the girl in front of her peeking over her shoulder.

With the moonlight casting a blue blanket over her features, she could have sworn she saw cerulean eyes glinting back at her.

She fell into a fitful, guilt-ridden sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Mary's thumb traced over the crisp edge of the folded playing card in her hand.

' _Meet me in the dining hall in an hour'_

The words were scrawled in Yumeko's neat handwriting over the six red diamonds printed on the face of the card. She had slipped what Mary is now recognizing to be her signature note into Mary's hand as they left their last class of the day—exactly one hour ago.

Returning the note to the pocket of her blazer, she hesitantly walked to the double doors of the dining hall. She had absolutely no idea what to expect on the other side of those doors. Yumeko was becoming more unpredictable as of late.

Her feet stalled—seemingly glued to the ground. There was something stopping her from taking the few steps forward to the dining hall. _Was someone watching her?_ She spun around quickly, searching in the opposite direction for the source of that heavy stare she felt tingling on her neck.

But the cavernous hallway was devoid of students. She shook the ominous feeling off and turned back to the dining hall. It was probably her imagination.

Pulling the heavy doors open with both hands, Mary cautiously stepped into the room—only to be rushed onto a dining table by a twirling Yumeko. The hard wood was covered in white cloth with lit candles and grapes scattered across the surface.

To her surprise, they weren't alone. The Student Council President herself, Kirari Momobami, was laying prone on her stomach on a table similar to hers—a cherry poking out between her frosty, blue lips.

The dancing girl motioned for Mary to lay down on the table pushing a cherry into the palm of her hand. Complying, she settled onto the hard surface of the table, tilted her head back, and placed the cherry in her mouth.

From the corner of her eye, she watched Yumeko continue her mini pirouettes to the beat of an imaginary song. In her hands, she carried a fork and knife—gleefully making her way through the tables.

"Mary-san, come play with me…" Her eyes followed Yumeko as she danced away from the tables throwing a sultry look over her shoulder. The sashay of her hips hypnotized Mary. She felt her body give chase to the dancing girl past the rows of dining tables only to come to a stop at a hauntingly familiar scene.

Suzui was on his hands and knees waiting for her to take her seat on his back—opposite Yumeko.

Mary opened her eyes; blinking against the sunlight shining on her face. Her arm was throbbing from being wedged between the naked body still snoozing in front of her.

 _Ouch, I forgot how much that hurts._

She thought about moving her arm, but the sight of the girl's peaceful face made her pause.

Yumeko was facing her this time.

She studied every inch of the girl's features lazily—the golden shine of the morning light tricking Mary into thinking she had all the time in the world. In the moments that passed, she was left to reflect on the thoughts, feelings, and events that had come over her last night.

For two weeks, she had dominated Yumeko—controlling every aspect of their sexual encounters to establish a clear separation from "House Pet Yumeko" and—well, if she were to be honest—"Gambling Goddess Yumeko". But somehow, in one night, the lines between the two had blurred, and to Mary's terror…feelings she had thought she'd never have again begun to surface—for Yumeko.

She was angry, in all honesty.

After the shit-storm of feelings she had experienced in the past, she vowed to suppress all feelings of that nature to the deepest recesses of her being. It had worked, initially—but then Yumeko came along.

When she first transferred to Hyakkaou, Mary had planned to defeat the girl in one thorough strike, but Yumeko had beaten her to the point of becoming a house pet—with a life plan to boot.

Mary was _beyond_ humiliated. The days she served as a house pet were absolute torture. Every day, the promise she vowed to Tsuzura had rung through her mind like an endless alarm clock. An agonizing reminder of her past failures. She couldn't protect Tsuzura like she had promised, so how did she expect to protect _herself_?

When news came out that Yumeko had fallen into 310 million yen debt, Mary had allowed herself a small feeling of vindication. Then, she begun to plan. As far as she knew, Yumeko was in bigger debt than Mary was and so she used it to her advantage.

If ever they were in the same room, Mary would immediately send the girl on endless errands. She ignored the other students' taunts and relished in the small semblance of control she had regained of her life.

Her own debt hung over her head like a storm cloud but having Yumeko waiting on her allowed her some reprieve from the never-ending gloom.

Then finally, the debt settlement party was announced—and she planned some more. Her trickery panned out flawlessly despite her having to rope Yumeko into the plot.

Unbeknownst to Mary, Yumeko was planning, as well. Thoughts of that damned playing card Yumeko had slipped into her hand crossed her mind. If Mary had known that that exact moment would change her entire life, she would've thrown that card right back in Yumeko's _stupid_ , _cute_ face.

 _Sitting on her bed, Mary unfolded the card hiding in her uniform blazer pocket. She had read and re-read the words a thousand times by now._

' _Keep your door unlocked tomorrow'_

" _Tomorrow, meaning today," Mary whispered to herself. The words were scrawled over the red print of an ace of hearts card._

 _She didn't know what to think. What could Yumeko possibly want? As far as Mary knew, she was done with the house pet now that she was finally free from her debilitating debt._

Knock-knock-knock.

 _Her eyes flew up to the door. "Who is i-" Yumeko hadn't even given her a chance to voice the question before she rushed into the room closing the door quickly behind her. It was clear that the girl had been in a rush to get there. She waited while the girl caught her breath intent on having Yumeko speak first. It's not like she knew what to say, anyway._

" _Saotome-sama," she took a deep breath, "I have a proposition for you," Yumeko said at last._

'Saotome-sama? Didn't she practically beg to call me Mary-san yesterday? And what proposition? _' Mary thought skeptically. Things were happening way too fast for even Mary to process. She just longed for some quality alone time in the comfort of her bedroom, but here she was being bombarded by Yumeko, of all people. Although, she couldn't deny her curiosity at the girls' words._

 _When Yumeko didn't continue, Mary pushed, "Well? I'm listening."_

 _Yumeko's eyes flashed. Without turning her body, she swiftly turned the lock on the door knob and gave Mary a salacious smile. Mary's eyes squinted at the gesture, "You're not about to kill me, are you?"_

" _Oh, Saotome-sama, you're so silly!" the girl giggled and bounced towards the bed, cozying up to Mary's shoulder. Hooking an arm around Mary's, she continued, "It's wonderful that you've finally gotten rid of your house pet status."_

 _Mary gritted her teeth. She really didn't want to linger on the subject now that she was finally free. "Yes," she bit out, "it's_ truly _wonderful. You know, you could be free too if you just used the money we won to give to the student council." From the sound of their conversation on the stairwell earlier today with Suzui, Yumeko was definitely planning something big for reaping the benefits of a house pet._

 _Oblivious to her tone or choosing not to acknowledge it (Mary never knew with her), Yumeko carried on, "Well, we'll see about that," she moved to place her hand on the bed behind Mary and leaned in close to whisper suggestively, "I don't think I'm ready to give up being_ Mittens _, yet."_

 _Mary stared straight ahead to where her notes and textbooks were strewn across her desk, refusing to look into the girl's eyes. She didn't need to look at Yumeko to know that her eyes were dark and swirling—lustful and full of wanton need. It was almost a familiar sight. Mary had seen her eyes transform that way hundreds of times—when she gambled and when she ordered Yumeko to run frivolous errands for her. The girl would return to her with the task completed, dutifully, but with that same crazed look plastered on her face. Mary knew if she looked at her now, she might give into something she might end up regretting._

" _Saotome-sama," Yumeko sing-songed, pulling Mary's chin towards her, "why are you so tense?" Under the girl's fingers, Mary clenched her jaw. She was so close…she_ felt _more than_ heard _her words whispering into her ears._

 _Mary broke from her hold, standing and taking long strides to physically separate herself from the girl. Crossing her arms, she glares into Yumeko's intoxicating eyes and wills herself to stay strong. "What's the deal with you calling me Saotome-sama all of a sudden? You_ just _asked if you could call me Mary-san the other day!" Deflection always was her strong suit._

 _All she gets is a giggle hidden behind Yumeko's slender hand. "What?" Mary snaps._

" _Weren't you listening, Saotome-sama?" Mary watches with cautious eyes as Yumeko slides from the edge of her bed onto the cold, hard floor in front of her, "I don't want to give up being a house pet—just yet." She punctuates her words by planting her knees apart and leaning up to clasp one of Mary's hands._

 _With little resistance, she lets the girl pull her forward._

" _I'm not ready for you to let go of your hold on me."_

Mary's eyes snap into focus. The sleeping girl was beginning to stir, throwing Mary into a panic.

She slams her eyes shut, steadies her breath, and ignores the throbbing pain in her arm. With only her ears and sense of touch to depend on, she waits for Yumeko to fully awaken.

First, there's the sound of rustling sheets. She can feel the blanket on top of them slide over her arm. Distantly, she can still feel the warmth of the sun shining through her window and settling on her skin.

Then, the bed shifts slightly beneath them. Mary struggles to keep breathing normally—waiting for Yumeko's next move. Her eyes are closed, but she can imagine the golden glow surrounding Yumeko's form.

She feels the braid that's draped over her shoulder move as Yumeko trails her fingers down the loose plait. It sends tingles up her spine.

In that moment, Mary wishes more than anything that she was brave enough to open her eyes; more afraid of what she won't see in Yumeko's gaze than what she will.

Her fingers lift from her hair and suddenly she feels fingers brushing across her cheekbone, up along the side of her face, then across her forehead—skimming through her bangs. The golden glow against her eyelids—already bright—shines brighter. She fights the urge to smile.

There's barely any space between each other in her small bed, but she still has to strain to hear the words escaping from her lips, "What have I done?"

Mary's stomach falls.

The words were spoken softly, but the tone rang loud and clear— _Regret._

She was infinitely glad she kept her eyes closed. She wouldn't have been able to mask the way her eyes would fall had they been open.

Then, the blanket was lifting up off of their bodies. Frigid air rushed to replace the warm cocoon in its place. The small frame of the bed groaned under Yumeko's shifting weight as she crawled over Mary's side-lying form, trying to avoid disturbing her sleep, presumably.

None of that mattered because Mary was numb to all of it.

Her eyes didn't need to be open to know that the girl behind her was dressing up hastily—removing every trace of her presence from the tidy room. Mary forced herself to retract into the shell she had created long ago; protecting herself and herself, only.

With her back to Yumeko, she let herself wince at the pain still in her left arm. To her dismay, the pain was intensifying even now that the pressure had been lifted from her limb. Ironically, it seemed fitting.

The hushed commotion behind her suddenly stopped and she listened to hear the soft padding of Yumeko's feet as they walked towards her bedroom door. With each step, Mary pulled the edges of her figurative shell closer to herself, preparing to shield herself from the inevitable blow.

The steps paused.

Mary held her breath.

 _Silence_.

The sound of the door creaking open sent a chill up her spine—but the clicking of the door shutting closed sent the final blow straight to Mary's back. She let go of the breath she was holding and closed her mind off from the eerie stillness in the room.

In her determination to withdraw into her safe space, she missed the conversation taking place right outside of her door.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't see you there," Yumeko chirped, startled at the sight of the girl standing in the hallway.

"It's no problem, Jabami-san," Sayaka replied politely, "Good morning."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Mary's knuckles are blanched white as her fingers clutch the smooth surface of her pen. It's a miracle that the notebook she's writing in is still intact with how hard she's been scribbling notes in class. Her back is beginning to ache from the perfect posture she's maintained since class begun mid-morning and her eyes remain glued to the pages spread out in front of her. She's _tense_. But she's trying not to let it show.

Mary is hyper-aware that Yumeko is only two rows behind her and to her left. If she were to look outside the windows spanning across the left side of the classroom, she knows that she would see a glimpse of her in her peripheral vision.

But Mary has too much pride to let that happen.

She hadn't seen the girl's face since she woke up to her sleeping form this morning.

Mary made sure not to react when Yumeko walked into class today keeping her head down and pretending to sleep until she heard her sensei's voice calling for attention. It wasn't an unusual sight. Most days she would throw her bag of books under her seat and plop her head down for a quick nap before class. Mary only knew that Yumeko had walked in because of the unmistakable cloud of her perfume that breezed past, lingering in the air before dissipating completely.

It was because of that damned perfume that her bed was stripped bare in her dorm room. The scent of Yumeko hadn't left when _she_ left that morning to Mary's dismay. She had pried her window open with the hopes that the brisk morning air would flood out the perfume and the thoughts plaguing her mind, but all it accomplished was leaving Mary a shivering mess in her sleep shorts. She could practically _hear_ the universe laughing at her.

So she stripped her bed of the sheets, blanket, and pillow covers. On her way to class, she had thrown the pile in the laundry room without giving it a second glance.

The physical removal of any reminders of Yumeko had helped Mary clear her mind that morning. Well, it helped a _little_ bit. Try as she might, Yumeko's words still rang through her head no matter how hard she tried to remain focused in class.

" _What have I done?"_

The sound of paper ripping brought her attention back to the present. Her eyes snapped to her hand where her notebook page was torn, separated completely from the binding. The instructor was still talking, but she could feel the stares of classmates next to her watching her next move. Mary shoots them both a glare, daring them to make a comment as she crumples the page in a ball as if she had intended to do so in the first place.

 _Idiot,_ she thinks. _Stay focused!_

Mary turns her attention back to the teacher and continues writing notes, despite having taught herself the material weeks before. She welcomes the monotonous distraction. Anything to stop the sound of regret in Yumeko's voice from playing in her mind again.

"Well, then that's it. See you again next time."

The sound of students standing and giving respects to the sensei filled the air. But it wasn't enough to block out the screech of Suzui's chair as he rushed to Yumeko's side. Like clockwork. The boy did it after every class without fail. Mary quickly placed her books back in her bag reminding herself to pocket the crumpled ball of notebook paper. Notes were still notes, after all.

She reaches for the discarded notebook page, but manicured nails donned with bright green and black striped designs beats her to it.

"What's this? Are you deciding to finally take my advice and stop taking notes?"

Mary brings her gaze up to the shining, dark blue eyes of Itsuki Sumeragi. She's holding the paper ball with the tips of her two fingers as if it was a dirty sock. Mary rolls her eyes. She must have slipped into the classroom after class when she wasn't looking.

Up until recently, all she knew about the girl was that she was the daughter to the CEO of one of Japan's biggest toy companies. An heiress with a creepy nail obsession with her future set in stone.

Or so she thought.

Itsuki had enlisted Mary's help a few weeks ago with studying for her year one classes. She had heard from other first year students that Mary was one of the top students in her class in terms of academics. Mary had desperately tried to avoid becoming her tutor, but the girl wouldn't leave her alone until she accepted. Every day, the younger girl would bring her a different bribe of the food variety somehow knowing that Mary had a sweet tooth. Exasperated and surrounded by heaps of discarded food wrappers, Mary confronted Itsuki. Apparently, the so-called "heiress" was being threatened by her father to lose her allowance if her grades didn't improve. Losing her allowance would mean losing her means to gamble, which would mean losing her place in Hyakkaou Academy.

Mary wouldn't normally help someone like Itsuki, let alone _anyone_ , but her situation reminded her of her own. In a way, she was almost like a scholarship student. Mary knew exactly what it was like to be one, considering she _was_ one.

Their numerous tutoring sessions had proved to be successful if the amount of cash flooding Itsuki's bank from CEO Sumeragi was anything to go by. As a result, Itsuki and Mary didn't have many study dates recently (not to mention Mary was usually too busy with Yumeko to study with Itsuki), but they still talked occasionally.

"Very funny. Throw that in my bag for me, would you? Unlike you, my notes are still legible even after being crumpled up in a ball," she held her bag open, turning her back to the door where she could hear Suzui talking Yumeko's ear off as they left the classroom.

The black stripes on Itsuki's nails glinted in the light as she threw the ball in Mary's book bag. "'Kay. Let's get to the dining hall. I'm starving!" She grabbed Mary's arm, hooking her own in the crook of her elbow, and hurried towards the door.

To be fair, Itsuki's babbling was a great distraction from this morning's "mishap". The incessant chirping from the other girl made it impossible to focus on anything other than the food in front of her, so Mary held her tongue. It didn't change the fact that Itsuki was babbling, though.

"Oh! Have you heard? There's a new gambling den opening in the West wing in a few weeks. We should go check it out!"

That caught Mary's attention. "West wing? There's nothing there except for old offices and storage rooms."

"That's what I thought too. But the student council is planning to clear the rooms of junk and designate a few of the rooms for games," Itsuki explained.

 _Interesting_ , Mary thought. _Gambling might just be exactly what I need right now._

"We should check it out!" Itsuki was practically bouncing in her chair.

It wasn't a bad idea. Mary was behind on gambling this month, anyway.

"Oh, I have an even better idea!" Itsuki reached across the table and grabbed Mary's hands in hers, "we should gamble _together_!"

 _Now_ it was a bad idea. The aversion on Mary's face must have been obvious because Itsuki continued on, "Now wait, before you totally dismiss the idea hear me out first."

Mary stared blankly at Itsuki waiting for her to continue. The grip she still had on Mary's hands was starting to make her feel trapped.

Most students, like Mary, preferred to gamble solo. It was just exceedingly more convenient in her opinion. There were less factors to consider in paired games. Not to mention, the risk tends to be higher in pairs considering the payout needs to be worth it for two players to split the profit. Mary would rather not go through extra stress if she didn't have to. She curses to herself as her brain reminds her about the last time she paired with someone else in a match. _Traitor,_ she thinks directing it towards herself.

"First of all, I'm a great gambler!" Itsuki beamed, "you and I could be like the power couple of gambling if we teamed up together." Mary's blank stare doesn't falter.

Itsuki blinks, "...okay, maybe not." Her manicured nail taps against her lip as she thinks. "Oh! We can use my allowance you helped me keep! Daddy gives me extra cash now that I'm doing well. You wouldn't need to put in any of your own money. Consider it payment for your tutoring!" Mary's head tilts to the side in a contemplative gesture.

"Come on, Mary-san please! We could be unstoppable at those tables," her eyes are shining in delight at the power they could impose.

"Why do you care so much? We've never even gambled together before. How can I be sure that you could keep up with me?" Mary asks flipping her hair over one shoulder. She watches Itsuki's eyes squint at her words.

"I can hold my own. I was on the student council before, remember?"

"Yeah, _before._ You got kicked out!"

That did it. Mary knew she hit a nerve, but she just didn't understand why the girl was pushing so hard. An array of emotions flash across Itsuki's face. _Anger, regret, annoyance,_ and then... _mischief?_

She watches Itsuki's lips curve into a crude smirk, "Mary-san you don't have a choice," Itsuki drawls, "I heard that the new gaming den is dedicated to paired games _only_."

 _Don't have a choice?_

Mary's eyes slide to the right over to the table where she knows Yumeko and Suzui are eating their meals. The table where she would have normally sat, but today it was just not an option. Itsuki definitely wouldn't have been her first choice if she needed a partner, but it's not like she wanted to team up with Yumeko anytime soon.

Their eyes meet. Mary's heart jumps at the sight of those glowing, red eyes.

Yumeko looks surprised to see Mary making eye contact, but it only lasts a split-second. In an instant, the girl has schooled her features into something resembling 'cute neutrality'. The face that the rest of Hyakkaou sees on a daily basis. The face that she uses at a gambling table. The face that comes across as unreadable.

Mary swallows the bitter taste in her mouth and slowly lets her eyes take in the rest of the dining hall. Practically all of the academy was in the cavernous room chatting within their cliques and eating from their trays. Some faces she recognized from brief encounters during a game, some she knew from debts they owed to her, and of course, there were the randoms that she hadn't bothered to interact with. Without even trying, one table stood out the most: the student council. Kirari sat at the head, Sayaka on her right, and her twin sister, Ririka on her left. From where she was sitting, Ririka was staring straight at her. Well, it seemed that way. She could never tell with that blank-staring mask she wore.

She thought about all the faces she scanned in the room and quickly came to the conclusion that Itsuki was right, she didn't have a choice.

"Let's do it," Mary announces turning back to Itsuki. Her reaction is instantaneous.

"AHHH! I knew you would agr-" Mary brings up her hand and places it flush against Itsuki's face before the girl can shout any louder. She can feel the heat of the stares around her, directed towards the pair.

"Only on one condition," she says with her palm still covering Itsuki's face, "I need to know that you are a valuable partner. Win three gambling matches, _that I choose,_ and we've got a deal. I'll be your partner," Mary challenges.

"Dweehll!" Itsuki manages to blurt through the hand covering her mouth with her arms lifted in triumph. The unexpected sound and sight makes Mary explode in a fit of laughter. She brings her hand back immediately and clutches her stomach instead, the ridiculous noise from Itsuki still ringing in her head.

One table away, Yumeko and Suzui look up to watch the commotion. _Had they ever seen Mary genuinely laugh before?_

"Stop laughing at me Mary-san," Itsuki whines. Mary doesn't let up one bit. "Okay, that's enough!" she complains, crossing her arms over her chest. "I meant to say 'deal', you know what I meant!" She giggles despite herself.

Mary wipes the tears from the corner of her eyes and breathes through her mouth trying to calm down. She didn't realize how much she needed a good laugh. "Whatever you say, Sumeragi-chan. Come on, let's go study. We can find you a match tomorrow." They both stand, shaking hands over their respective finished meals in an agreement over the terms.

"Huh. What do you think that was about?" Suzui says through a mouthful of food.

"I have no clue," Yumeko says, barely above a whisper. She watches as the pair in question gathers their belongings, only stopping to throw their trash out on the way out of the dining hall.

"Well, whatever it is, it can't be good. I have never seen Mary smile like that before," he shakes his head moving in to finish the rest of his plate. Yumeko attempts to ignore the sound of Suzui eating next to her. Instead, she turns back to the table that the pair vacated and tries to memorize the sound of Mary's laughter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Out of all the rough, late nights Mary has _ever_ had in her life, she would have to place tonight as one of the top 3, no doubt about it.

"Aghh," Mary moans. Mary and Itsuki had been _quite busy_ for the past few ( _four? five?_ ) hours. Her back is aching from holding such an agonizing position for so long. She swears she can feel the beginning of a pressure ulcer forming between her shoulder blades where it connects with the couch behind her. Her uniform is all disheveled and she just _knows_ without looking that her hair is in disarray. It's confirmed when she feels only one of her ribbons brushing against her shoulder as she turns her head to the side. And _ouch,_ her hand is definitely cramping up.

They were busy. Being studious, of course.

The coffee table in front of her is littered with textbooks and paper supplies, but she barely sees it. Her eyelids are drooping so low that the words written on her homework are reduced to blurry little squiggles. After leaving the dining hall, the girls had set up camp in Itsuki's dorm where they chatted for hours (which mostly consisted of Itsuki gossiping about other first years) before actually studying. It was hard for Mary to stay focused when the other girl kept getting distracted by literally _anything_ and _everything_ in her room. Even worse, Itsuki's father had sent her more of those delectable mont-blancs from Seifudo. The dangerous amount of sugar they guzzled down is probably one of the reasons why she's crashing right now.

Mary had already fallen asleep dozens of times while working through her class exercises. But each time she would close her eyes, she would fall into the same nightmare.

 _All she could see was black. Were her eyes still closed? No. Over there. There, though far away, she could see where the calm, pitch black seawater met with a glowing, golden horizon. The two colors against each other made her frown in confusion. That wasn't right. But it_ felt _right. Natural, almost. She relented. This was the norm. Mary allowed the soothing waters wash over her skin like she was being healed. It felt nice. Her soul was mending._

 _It didn't last. Nothing in Mary's life seemed to last._

 _The calm sea water began to ripple. Slow lapping waves turned into large, thrashing swells of black crests. Mary felt herself being swallowed by the sea. The same water that was supposed to heal her had turned in an instant, devouring her at her most vulnerable. She didn't fight it._ You should have known, _she thinks._ This is your fault. You shouldn't have gone in the water.

 _The more breaths she takes in, the deeper she drowns in the chaos. And she's gasping for air now. She's gasping. She can't see the golden horizon anymore. All that's left of the glow is a piercing red blaze in its place. Violent waves throw her back and forth like she's not even there. She doesn't exist. She should feel betrayed. But this is the norm. She relents and the black waves swallow her whole._

Mary would fall into the same nightmare each time. And each time she would wake with sweat painted across her brow and her heart pounding so hard she couldn't hear herself think.

She pinches the skin on the back of her hand trying in vain to wake herself up, but all that does is leave a bright red mark in its place. Mary stares at the red mark through her tired eyes wondering if she should succumb to her exhaustion. It's not like she had more schoolwork to do. And maybe the next time she falls asleep the nightmare would go away.

Probably not. All she knows is that she doesn't want to experience the nightmare in her own room where her bed was still stripped bare.

She doesn't want to be alone.

Across the elegantly decorated dorm room, Itsuki is slumped over her writing desk still in her uniform. She would bet all of her savings that her homework was still unfinished, just as it was earlier when Itsuki had decided to take a "quick nap".

She slowly pushes herself up from her place at the marble coffee table, palms landing on the piles of magazines Itsuki had been thumbing through during hour three of their study session. Mary intends to check for herself just how much work the girl had done. Although, when she takes a step towards the girl, she loses balance and crashes into the heavy wooden frame of the oversized bed.

" _Fuck_ ," Mary curses, breathing through the pain in her deadened limbs. That was enough to wake her up. She didn't realize her legs had fallen asleep before she did. Once she deems herself safe enough to walk, she begins the short trek to the ornate writing desk.

Well, a _long trek_ now because of Mary's numb, tingling legs.

As she walks closer to the desk, albeit _at an embarrassingly slow pace,_ she takes in the sight of the girl sleeping on her folded arms.

She's cute, in that quirky-cute sort of way. Her shoulders are slender and her waist is trim. She is shorter than Mary. The coloring of her hair reminds her of the sweets that she used to find in her grandfather's jacket pockets. The short, caramel blonde layers fall in an organized chaos of tresses that frame her face gracefully. She realizes that she's never seen her without her headband and she always, _always_ has her nails manicured.

Mary decides that Itsuki is sweet. Everything about her seems sweet.

But Mary? Mary is far from sweet.

If Itsuki never approached Mary about being her tutor, she doubts she would ever associate herself with the girl.

Itsuki comes from an exceptionally wealthy family and her dorm room was more than enough proof of that. Compared to Mary's simplistic room, Itsuki's room screamed "money". The size of the room was at least four times bigger than her own, the coffee table itself probably cost more than all the furniture in Mary's room combined, and her bed was large enough to sleep at least three people. Three _Jun Kiwatari-sized people,_ that is _._

Mary cringes. _That would be a weird sight to see_.

"Itsuki-san," Mary whisper-shouts when she reaches the desk. Nudging the girl's shoulder, she tries again, "Itsuki-san wake up."

"Hrmph," the girl grumbles in reply. It takes a few moments, but Itsuki finally stirs, blearily squinting through her sleep-addled eyes.

"You ok with me crashing here tonight?" she asks, trying to keep her tone nonchalant. Mary doesn't want her asking any questions.

"'Course. The bed is big enough." She's met with silence.

Itsuki sneaks a peek up at Mary. Even through her blurry eyes she can tell Mary is unamused, "Or.. there's the couch? I'm pretty sure it's comfy enough."

It's clearly the better answer because Mary replies with, "Thanks, Itsuki-san."

"No problem. I guess I should get ready for bed. Do you want to borrow some sleep clothes?"

"Well, I'm not about to sleep in my uniform," Mary half-heartedly quips. The other girl lazily walks into her walk-in closet and emerges with a small stack of clothes. She furrows her brow at that _. We wear uniforms, why the hell does she need a walk-in closet?_

"I'm too sleepy to deal with your attitude," Itsuki sighs handing her a bundle of pajamas. _Oh god, I said that out loud?_ At least Mary has the decency to blush at her own expense.

With her own clothes, Itsuki heads into her en suite bathroom ( _of course_ ) while Mary leaves for the bathroom in the hallway.

Reflexively, she turns to the right before realizing she's in a different wing than her own room. But once Mary turns around to walk in the correct direction, she sees a door being closed hastily a few doors away. She struggles to see who the other student might be, but in the low lighting, she only sees a flash of the black cuff of a uniform and a glint of light before the hallway is still again.

 _Weird,_ she didn't expect anyone to be awake at this hour. From what she could tell from the layout of Itsuki's room, this wing was occupied by the more affluent students at Hyakkaou. That would mean she knew for certain that most of the student council would be on this floor. _Interesting._

* * *

The next two days pass by much like the last. Except this time around, Mary is _exhausted_.

She doesn't regret sleeping on Itsuki's couch, _twice_ , but it feels like she barely slept. Each bout of the nightmare was more intense than the last. So much, that by the time she finally wakes up both days, she was exhausted by the ordeal of experiencing it over and over again.

Her classes drift by in disjointed blurs. The pages of her notebook remain blank. She doesn't even remember eating breakfast or _any meal_ , for that matter.

* * *

"You're going to have to play better than that, Nakamura," Itsuki chides. Her glossy nails tap against the cards in her hand menacingly.

It seems as though the unsettling noise has achieved its intended effect. The sleek-haired boy sitting across from Itsuki looks _stressed_. His opponent has cornered him late in the game, but there is still a chance for him to gain the upper hand. From her spot behind Itsuki's shoulder, Mary watches as Nakamura's eye twitches at the taunt. _Nope, he's not going to figure it out._

Throughout the majority of the game, Shota Nakamura was non-stop with trash talk. Now that the two were approaching the conclusion of the game? Radio silence.

Mary had specifically selected this very game with Shota to test Itsuki's resilience. She needed to know if the girl could persevere through constant jeers and break through an opponent's arrogance.

Shota draws from the deck choosing to risk the odds than to play with the cards already on the table. It's almost imperceptible, but Mary has a trained eye. His fingers were _definitely_ shaking as he brought the card back to his hand.

Itsuki doesn't flinch, but she has an inkling that she had seen the shaking too. Mary's watching Nakamura silently scramble for a winning move when suddenly, she feels it.

Mary doesn't understand it, truthfully. She has begun to notice this inane pull that pulses from the center of her being that has her gravitating towards... _her_. Yumeko. It's driving her crazy.

There's this heaviness that lays on her shoulders when she knows Yumeko has entered the room. The muscles in her neck tense up-an instinct in her body begging her to _look._ To watch the girl stride through the threshold with her long, flowing hair. It happened in every single one of her classes yesterday _and_ today, and it's happening _now._

She has to fight _so hard_ not to give in, but the urge is so strong. And she's _exhausted_ right now. It has gotten to the point where she's becoming self-conscious that the effort is beginning to show.

 _Self-conscious._ Mary has never been one to describe herself as self-conscious. But here she is.

It has been three days since they last were together and she hasn't heard from Yumeko since. There was that incident in the dining hall the other day, but that's the full extent of it. There's a part of her that's glad that they haven't interacted yet. Mary is scared that if they make eye contact, she will see the crimson sky she now recognizes in her nightmares.

Her brain is urging her to turn around and face her, to face the person who caused these nightmares to take hold of her mind, but her body is keeping her desires at bay. She's eternally thankful. Mary knows it's for the best if she wants to protect herself.

Yet, she can still feel the girl lingering on the edge of her periphery. She's barely visible from where Mary is standing, but her body just _knows_ that she's there. From all those long, consecutive nights spent together, Mary could recognize her movements anywhere and everywhere.

Mary decides that she should be angry at Yumeko. She never asked for any of this to happen. She never asked the girl to make late visits to her room on a regular basis. She never asked her to insert herself so deeply into Mary's routine that she now has to fill her nights with useless studying to the point of exhaustion. She never asked for...

 _Ugh_. It's...complicated.

But Mary is not stupid. Never once has she entertained the idea that there was... _more._ She made sure to implement those rules with the sole intention of creating a clear line of where Yumeko should stand when it came to their relationship. In fact, the line was _so_ clear that there _was_ no "relationship". Yumeko was her kitten and she was her master. Their arrangement was one of pure attraction.

That was the one thing that Mary _would_ admit. There was no denying that there was a pull between them that was just too glaring to ignore.

Once Yumeko had offered her the chance to yield even an _ounce_ of power over her, she had seized the opportunity as soon as it was in her grasp.

First as a house pet, then later, as _her_ house pet.

They had such great times together. They had tried so many things that she could only _dream_ about before. She would fantasize about the trysts they'd have together long before they would actually take place, and the results were always _better_ than she could ever imagine.

Mary had always gone to bed beyond satisfied with delicious aches in her muscles that could only be contributed to her behaved little house pet. Of course, the same went for Yumeko. Many a time she had seen Yumeko "acting strangely" in class after a night together. Suzui would be fussing over her asking her things like, "why are you walking like that?" While Mary, with the biggest smirk plastered on her face, would know _exactly_ why she was walking like that.

Mary took the risk with Yumeko because she felt safe. She knew the rules would keep her safe.

But that one night when Yumeko had broken so many of her rules, she had crossed the line that Mary had tried so hard to define.

In a single night (that never should have turned into a morning), Yumeko had destroyed the protection that Mary had worked _so hard_ to build around her heart.

She had thought that Yumeko breaking her rules was her way of resisting against the roles they had settled into. She thought that… maybe, things could be different from how they were. There was a split second that crucial morning when Mary had let these thoughts dance around in her head. It was when Yumeko was still asleep, peaceful in that early morning glow.

 _I wish this could be everyday,_ Mary's mind had let slip _._

The thought was so fleeting, it _just barely_ took root...but she thought it just the same. She wished it could be everyday.

Then, when Yumeko woke up and drew her hand so softly across Mary's hair and along her face, the wish of _everyday_ grew stronger. In that moment, Mary's heart had not felt so full since ...Tsuzura. She had not felt a connection so _solid_ since Tsuzura.

But then Yumeko was whispering regrets and dressing herself in black and red armor, so Mary had no choice but to do the same. She's been dressed in her own armor since that morning fighting a battle within herself.

Now she knows that she was right to implement those rules. Look where breaking them had gotten her. Because of it, she was now mulling over feelings she has over a girl that was only supposed to be her house pet.

 _Feelings_ , she scoffs. _Feelings are just a nuisance._

"Mary-san."

 _Feelings do_ absolutely nothing _, but cause people pain in the end._

"Mary-san."

 _Feelings only send people you love far awa-_

"DAMN IT!" Shota roars, throwing the cards across the table. His rage is palpable as he shoves his seat backwards and stomps toward the exit without another word.

Itsuki shoots her a smug look while leaning across the mess of cards on the table to gather the money Shota had wagered on the game: around _ten million yen_.

Meanwhile, Mary is genuinely in _awe_ of how long she had been out of it. _How long had they been playing?_ _How long had she just been_ standing _there like an idiot?!_

She is quite _literally_ shaken out of her musings when Itsuki's beaming face takes up her line of vision and hands latch onto her shoulders. "Mary-san, did you SEE that?! _Ten million yen!"_

It's like she's having an out of body experience. Distantly, she can see Itsuki shaking her body back and forth like a rag doll, but her eyes are blank from the sudden disruption of her thoughts. Her mouth is slack, dizzy from all the commotion.

"I-yaahh-saw-i-" Mary tries to squeak out, "ye-aa-s-"

Her feeble attempt at speaking is interrupted by Itsuki rambling at ten thousand words a minute, "Marysanohmygoditwasawesomewhatanidiotamirightlikehecouldhavewonatonepointbuthisheadwassofaruphisas-"

Mary swears she's slowly building up a phobia of this girl.

Yet, amidst all the vigorous shaking and rambling, she can feel that soul-suspending _pull_ again. Except, this time? It's getting _stronger_. The small, fine hair on the back of her neck is standing up and she can feel the tension between her shoulders build like a rubberband stretched to its limits. The muscles in her neck begin to strain despite Itsuki's man-handling of her body and Mary is on _edge_. She wants to run.

She wants to run because she can _feel_ Yumeko closing the distance between them and it's making Mary panic.

Just before she can feel that imaginary rubberband _snap_ , she breaks out of Itsuki's arms ignoring the look of complete shock she gives her, and sprints to the nearest exit.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Mary can hear the sound of footfalls chasing after her as she flees down the bustling hallways of Hyakkaou. Students are flooding in and out of classrooms like water released from a reservoir, but she can still hear the steps behind her in time with own. Although she physically removed herself from that suffocating room, the tension in her body still lingers from the threat of Yumeko's presence. She focuses on weaving through the gaps of moving bodies to distract herself from that persistent pressure.

Her mind is torn. A part of her wishes that it's Yumeko coming to console her, but the hurt and angry part of her hopes it's anyone _but_ her.

Then finally, she breaks through the horde of her classmates and pushes past ancient, wooden double doors. The exit leads to an outdoor pathway that opens up to Hyakkaou's meticulously trimmed garden. With the rush of fresh air on her face, Mary lets herself breathe for what feels like the first time in a long time.

Oxygen surges into her lungs while she relishes in the feel of the setting sun on her cheeks. She leans against the sturdy, wooden railing letting her hair fall around her face. She manages to take in two whole deep breaths before the doors creak open behind her.

The sound of soft, even footsteps slowly approach her.

She waits for it, but the magnetism she now associates with _the_ girl never hits her chest. Mary knows it's not Yumeko without even looking. Distantly, she recognizes the feeling of her stomach falling as disappointment.

 _Itsuki is sweet,_ Mary repeats.

The footsteps stop beside her and suddenly, Itsuki's arm is looping around her elbow. Those caramel blonde tresses settle across her shoulder and for the moment, Mary lets her. For the past few days, she didn't want to be alone and Itsuki has been there for her without even knowing she needed it.

"What's going on, Mary-san?" her voice is gentle, a complete change from the hyperactive tone she had in the gambling room.

Mary's eyes fall to the light pink bed of flowers in the garden. She's not sure what to tell the other girl. She wouldn't even know where to start. Most of all, she's not sure telling Itsuki about Yumeko would be the best decision. They were friends, but Mary wasn't ready to be _that_ open.

The girl must have taken the hint because she changes the subject, "I've never actually taken the time to walk around the garden. Will you join me?"

Mary takes a deep breath. Wordlessly, she tightens the hold on their linked arms and guides them to the cobbled pathway.

* * *

They silently walk through the terrace until the sun dips under the horizon and the lantern posts automatically switch on. Itsuki doesn't push for more and only breaks the peaceful lull to comment on the beauty of the abundance of flowers.

Much later, though, Itsuki decides to take the first step.

"My mother loves to garden. She would tend to her flowers every day while I played in the yard when I was younger," Itsuki's voice is wistful, then suddenly, bitter, "I used to hate it. I always thought she spent more time with her precious garden than with me."

Mary's head is still angled down, but Itsuki knows she is listening intently.

"But then, when I grew up, I realized it was important to her. The special attention and care she put into the seedlings would materialize with every bud and blossom that grew." She places her free hand on Mary's bicep where their arms interlock. "Believe it or not, but _she's_ the one that taught me about hard work. Not my father."

Mary lets the words drift in the air between them. Just as they pass a row of jasmine flowers hanging from a shrub, she looks to the girl beside her and pauses, "Thank you, Itsuki-san."

Itsuki is startled from the sudden acknowledgement, but she recovers quickly, "Of course, Mary-san." She offers her a soft smile at the admission and Mary returns it, easily.

At the end of the path, there is a bench glowing from the light of a lantern only a few feet away. Mary guides them towards it and they sit, taking in the tranquil scene before them. They are alone save for the sound of crickets and water bubbling from the fountain they had passed earlier. It is a stark difference from the chaos of Hyakkaou that looms behind them.

She feels like her mind has been a scrambled mess since that morning with Yumeko. She hasn't slept well and who knows if she's been eating? _She_ certainly can't remember. The peaceful air is a welcome change from what she's been going through lately. It's because of this that Mary blames for what she says next.

"You've been such a great friend to me without even knowing, Itsuki," Mary admits under her breath. Her shoulders are hunched forward as she grips the edge of the bench and toes a stray pebble on the ground. Itsuki watches the side of her face intently.

"These past couple of days have been rough," Mary confides.

From the corner of her eye, she can see Itsuki nodding at her words. "Right. I had a feeling."

Mary hums. "Normally, I would be fine dealing with it alone, but this is...complicated."

"Dealing with what?"

For a second, she considers telling Itsuki about the situation, but ultimately decides against it, "I have a best friend," Mary rushes out, "well... _had_ a best friend." All this time, Itsuki had shared countless stories of her past and her more personal thoughts while Mary had shared nothing. She decides that now would be a good time to start.

Itsuki is silent at first contemplating the choice of words, but then, "what do you mean _had_? What happened?"

"She was my friend that I hadn't seen since childhood. On my first day here at Hyakkaou, I recognized her and she remembered me," Mary thinks back with a small smile on her face. She laughs ruefully, "she was a housepet. But we worked hard together to get her out of it."

"Does she still go here?" Itsuki says, imploringly.

"No, not anymore," her voice breaks on the last word.

"Truthfully, I don't _really_ know what happened," Mary says, pushing off of the bench. Itsuki watches as her form grows tense with each step she takes away from where she's still sitting. Her fists curl into a tight ball and she feels the mood change in an instant.

"But there's one thing I _am_ certain of," she mumbles with her back still turned to Itsuki. When Mary finally turns around to face her, she has a murderous look in her eyes.

"She's gone because of _Kirari Momobami._ "

The sound of crickets calling to one another in the night is Mary's only indication of time passing. Otherwise, she would have thought that everything had frozen over. The girl on the bench is silent, her mouth gaping open with doubt in her eyes.

"Mary...that's-" Itsuki starts.

"Insane? Stupid? One-hundred percent true?" Mary supplies. "I _know_ she's the reason why Tsuzura is gone, even though she'll never admit to it!"

Itsuki shakes her head trying to comprehend what she's being told. "Hold on a second, you need to back up. Is Tsuzura...de-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Mary roars. But when she sees Itsuki flinch, she changes her demeanor, "I refuse to believe she's anything other than alive and well. She's just...not...here," she finishes weakly. "If she's anything other than okay, then I could never live with myself. _I_ was supposed to protect her. _I_ was supposed to make sure we survived together. _I_ was supposed to be her...Prince."

She could be imagining it, but Itsuki swears she sees the beginning of tears in Mary's eyes. She never thought her friend, who always seemed so strong and cold on the outside, could care so deeply about someone.

 _It actually does make sense,_ Itsuki concedes, _she is very much the protector-type._ Truthfully, she doesn't know what to say to that, so she stays silent waiting for Mary to continue.

The normally tenacious girl looks so fragile as she looks up somberly at the stars in the sky. "The worst part was, I didn't even get to say goodbye," Mary chokes under her breath.

* * *

" _Make sure to wipe down the tables again before you leave, Yukimi-san," Mary throws over her shoulder as she packs away the profits she had made for the day._

" _As always, captain! Good work."_

 _The gambling den they had acquired for themselves had been extremely successful, as of late. Although the three of them were an unlikely team, they were able to run gambles like a well-oiled machine spitting out an ample amount of earnings each time._

 _With the money counted and packed away in her briefcase, Mary heads out of the library room to check on Tsuzura. She had told her earlier that day that she had a commitment that would probably run into the night. The girl hadn't provided much detail, so she guessed that Tsuzura would be back in her dorm by now._

" _Tsuzura, you will never guess how much mon-" she says slamming the door to the room open. She drops her briefcase. The sight of an empty room stops her in her tracks._

 _The room was literally_ bare _aside from the standard furniture that came with the room._

 _Tsuzura's usual pristinely-made bed was divested of her signature light pink comforter and matching pillows. Her dresser drawers were empty, suspended out of their usual spots, and some were even discarded on the floor. The desk chair and side table were on their sides, kicked out of the way. And Aiko, the fluffy, white stuffed-toy bunny that Mary had gifted her wasn't at its usual spot on the writing desk. Tsuzura would always keep Aiko there for company while she did her homework._

 _She takes a final look around the room. It looked like the girl had been robbed._

 _Mary's senses are on high-alert. Her heart starts pounding on sheer fight-or-flight instinct. She knows no one would be stupid enough to ransack a dorm at_ Hyakkaou, _of all places. No, this was something else. She didn't know what yet, but she had a_ very bad feeling _about it_.

 _She sprints away from the skeleton of a room not knowing what to do, except that she had to find Tsuzura. Classrooms, paintings, doors,_ everything _that she passed by was a blur. She's certain that she pushed several people out of the way in the process, but she doesn't give a damn. There was something wrong about all of this and the fact that she hasn't even_ seen _Tsuzura yet only confirms it._

 _Her feet blindly take her to the great foyer of the school where large, glass windows oversee the steps leading to the entrance. She comes to a stop._

 _In the distance beyond the iron gates of Hyakkaou, Mary can see headlights breaking through the pitch dark of the night._

 _She pushes past the heavy, wooden doors and is greeted with the sight of her best friend solemnly walking towards a large vehicle with tinted windows. Luggage in one hand and Aiko in the other._

 _Bone-chilling gusts of wind is whipping her dark, midnight blue hair around her face, but she_ knows _that it's Tsuzura. She knows, it is._

" _TSUZURA!" she yells from the top of the stairs. The girl doesn't react. The spiraling wind is too strong for her voice to reach any further than a few feet ahead of her._

 _She tries again, cupping her palms around her mouth trying in vain to project as loudly as she can, "TSUZURA!"_

 _Nothing._

 _Mary rushes down the concrete steps, pushing past the ache in her muscles after running for so long just moments before. She's screaming so hard that she swears she can feel her vocal cords strain against her throat. "TSUZURA!"_

 _Something's wrong. Something is_ so _wrong. There are tears streaming down her face because Tsuzura isn't turning around. She can't hear her and she's_ not _turning around._

 _The door to the vehicle slides open and an older man in an expensive-looking suit is sitting inside. She barely has a chance to look at the man for any longer because Tsuzura is climbing in beside him. "TSUZURA, PLEASE WAIT! TSUZURA!"_

 _She still can't hear her._

BANG _. Far behind Mary, the heavy double doors that she must have left open have slammed shut from a particularly strong blast of wind._

 _The sound causes Tsuzura's eyes to snap to the side where she_ finally, _finally sees Mary running after her._

" _TSUZURA! PLEASE, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"_

 _There are streams of tears running down Tsuzura's face mirroring her own, but her mouth is set in a strong line. The once cowering girl she had reunited with in the beginning of the semester was different now. She was still as sensitive as could be, but Mary knew that she had grown stronger. She could see it now in her bright, but tiredly resigned eyes. There was sadness, overwhelming sadness written across her face. Yet, despite it all, Mary could see there was a determination in her features that hadn't been there before._

" _TSUZURA, PLEASE!"_

 _It felt like an eternity of them staring at each other from a distance. Mary with panic in her eyes and Tsuzura with resignation in hers. She was still running to catch up to her, but Tsuzura didn't budge from her seat next to the strange man._ Why wasn't she leaving?

" _PLEASE, STOP!"_

 _It was always like this. Tsuzura would find herself in trouble and Mary would always come to the rescue. That's how they worked. That's how it_ always _worked. But this time, Tsuzura wasn't letting herself be saved._

" _TSUZURA!"_

 _Just as she was in reaching distance of the iron gates, she watches helplessly as Tsuzura's lips mouth her final words to Mary._

" _Stay strong, my prince."_

 _Then, the door to the van slams shut between the two girls, leaving Mary to stare at her own reflection in the tinted windows. Even_ she _could see the pure heartbreak in her own eyes as the vehicle peeled away from the curb._

" _No. NO!" her exhausted body scrambles after the retreating van, but the tail lights were barely visible as they turned down the winding driveway of the private academy._

 _Mary can't remember how, but she manages to make it back into the building before the brewing storm outside gets worse. Her legs are sluggish and her head is wrought with a migraine from the constant crying. Idly, she rubs the skin of her throat trying to soothe the ache from her overworked vocal cords._

 _She collides with a body. "Oof, sorry-" Mary mutters without meaning it. She was so distracted that she didn't see the person who had been standing at the top of the stairs, all along._

 _Kirari Momobami._

* * *

"But how do you know if she had anything to do with it?" Itsuki questions.

She sighs exasperatedly. "I just _know_! She was standing there, staring with a creepy, knowing look in her eyes!" Mary blurts with her arms flailing out to the side. "There was no one else in that foyer, just me and her. I'm sure of it. She _had_ to have seen the whole thing and she didn't even question it!"

"To be fair, she always has a creepy knowing look in her eye," Itsuki quips.

Mary doesn't humor her. She crosses her arms over her chest and stares fixedly at the ground. She could understand that the story was hard to believe, but Mary knows what she saw that night.

Arms suddenly wrap around her back and she feels herself resting her forehead on Itsuki's shoulder. "I'm sorry. It's just a lot to take in," she apologizes. "I'm sorry about what happened to Tsuzura."

She doesn't let the tears fall. It has been months since she last let that happen.

Mary gives Itsuki a look of gratitude before breaking from the embrace.

"I wrote letters to her house for weeks, but never got a reply. I called every chance I could, but no one ever answered. Her cell phone number is disconnected and her parents are unreachable. I've tried everything. I never found her."

Itsuki can only stare dumbfounded at her friend. Never did she expect _this_ when she followed Mary out of that gambling room.

"After Tsuzura, I closed myself off to everyone at Hyakkaou. I didn't trust _anybody_ , least of all Kirari," Mary spits out.

"That's why I'm glad to have you as a friend, Itsuki. _Really_ , thank you."

All Itsuki can do is take Mary's hands in hers and squeeze them fondly, hoping to convey whatever it is that Mary needs in that moment.

They're still standing there, hands connected with one another, when Itsuki realizes how late it is. "You know what? I think I still have some daifuku in my fridge. Let's stuff our faces 'til we pass out!"

Mary gives a small nod and chuckles, uncharacteristically shy after all she's revealed.

As they walk back to the dormitory together, she considers the past conversation they've shared. Itsuki is the first person she has ever told about Tsuzura, but she doesn't regret it. Not one bit.

Once again, Mary is glad that she won't be alone for the night. Even if it isn't with the girl she wants to be with.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

" _No. Not again. Please...stop," she's so_ tired _._

 _It's the same nightmare, as Mary expected. Everything is the same. The golden horizon at first, next is the darkness closing in, then finally, the crimson sky._

 _Once again, she's drowning, surrendering to the inky, black waves just waiting for the inevitable when suddenly, she hears it._

" _Mary-san!"_

 _Dread runs through Mary's body like an electric shock. She could recognize that voice anywhere. She hasn't heard it in a while. And this is the last place she would_ ever _want to hear it, again._

" _TSUZURA!"_

 _Mary whips her head around frantically, searching for the source of the voice amongst the chaotic water swirling around her. Wave after wave, her body is battered by the strength of the storm and she struggles to keep her head above the black abyss. She pushes forward, swimming whenever she catches a lull between each swell._

 _Alarmingly, she realizes she can't hear anything over the sound of crashing water. 'Where did she go?'_

" _Mary-san!"_

 _Her energy renews with vigor at the sound of pure anguish laced in the words._

' _I'm going to find her and keep her safe. I'm going to keep her safe. I will_ always _keep her safe.'_

 _Gritting her teeth, Mary repeats the mantra in her head and drives forward through her mounting fatigue._

 _Above her, blood-red storm clouds are gathering, crackling with intensity in sync with Mary's kicking legs. For the first time since she's experienced the nightmares, Mary doesn't give in. Instead, she fights. She fights with every ounce of power she has left._

" _Mary-san!"_

 _The voice is much closer now. Her eyes are desperately scanning every inch of the water in front of her, praying to_ whoever _is listening that she isn't too late._

 _Then, just to the right of her, she hears a faint splashing, incongruous with the sounds of the thundering tides she's grown accustomed to._

" _TSUZURA! Wait for me, I'm coming!" With all of her strength, Mary kicks her legs and propels forward, toward the direction of the splashing._

 _Her back is to Mary, but she finally reaches her._

" _Tsuzura, I got you. Don't worry, I got you," she's crying freely now, tears mixing with the salty water that surrounds the both of them. Her arms are encircling Tsuzura's torso and her legs are doing their best to keep them both afloat. Above it all, the relief she feels is overwhelming. These nightmares always ended with her falling deeper and deeper in the cold darkness that an outcome like this was more than she could ever hope for._

" _Tsuzura, I'm so glad I found you," Mary sobs into her shoulder. She can't believe she's holding her best friend in her arms again. It had been so long that she almost forgot how good it felt to be connected together, in this way._

" _Mary-san," Tsuzura says shakily._

" _It's okay, I got you. You're safe now," Mary reassures her. "Just hold on to me, I got you."_

 _Tsuzura's head lolls back slowly and settles onto Mary's shoulder. Her usually bright, cerulean eyes are hazy, taking in the raging sky above before finally landing on Mary's._

 _The sight is a familiar one._

 _She's crying, just like she was on the day she last saw her._

" _Tsuzura, please don't cry. You're okay now," Mary's voice is slightly frantic. That same alarming feeling in the pit of her stomach she had before, begins to take root. "You're with_ me _, now! I will_ always _keep you safe, remember?" She squeezes her ever so closer, hoping to dispel the doubt from her mind._

 _Despite her words, Tsuzura's tears only fall faster. She doesn't make a sound, but Mary can feel her grief. She can see it in every tear that travels down her cheeks._

" _You saved me, Mary-san," Tsuzura whispers, trailing a hand down Mary's face. "Why do you keep saving me?"_

" _What do you mean? I had to. I couldn't leave you out here alone," Mary cries adamantly._

 _Tsuzura smiles weakly at that and slips the hand she has on Mary's cheek to the back of her head. Adrenaline is coursing through Mary's veins, but she swears her heart beats exponentially faster at the move._

" _Stay strong, my prince."_

 _When Tsuzura closes her eyes, Mary does the same and doesn't hesitate to lean in and connect their lips._

 _The warmth that fills her body from the kiss is almost enough to make her forget that she's dreaming._ Almost.

 _Her blood runs cold. That damned fear that has been sitting in her stomach builds and builds and builds until Mary can't take it anymore and begrudgingly opens her eyes._

 _The dark, blustery sea has finally calmed, but her arms are empty. She spins, turning in every direction, but there's no sign of Tsuzura._

" _NO!" She wails, "No, not again."_

* * *

She wakes up crying. Her chest aches where _dream-_ Tsuzura had been laying, her head is pounding from the constant tears, and…

Itsuki is holding her in a close embrace.

"Oh god," Mary sighs, quickly wiping the tears from her face. _If only there was a way to erase Itsuki's memory of this. So fucking embarrassing._

"We don't have to talk about it, don't worry," Itsuki murmurs. She shifts slightly, pulling the blanket higher over their bodies on the couch they're laying on.

Relieved, Mary burrows her head further into the small cocoon they've made. She covertly hides her reddened cheeks in the process. This is the first time she's been comforted by someone who isn't Tsuzura and she's not sure how to act.

"I hate to admit it, but...I don't deserve a friend like you," Mary sniffles.

Without missing a beat, Itsuki scoffs, "Yeah, you really don't- _Ouch!_ "

Mary brings her fist back from where she jabbed Itsuki in the side, "Don't push it."

Itsuki chuckles, "What? After all that, this is the thanks I get?!"

Despite herself, Mary chuckles wryly. "Yes, and you would be wise to accept it!"

In the early morning light, they settle into a surprisingly easy silence.

"Saotome-senpai," Itsuki begins carefully.

"Hm," she grunts, cautious of where this conversation might lead.

"I...um," she clears her throat and tries again, "I know it might be difficult for you to talk about Tsuzura, but um, I think it might help. With the nightmares."

Mary can feel Itsuki's arms go tense where they're wrapped around her, as if she's worried that Mary might lash out. _I don't blame her,_ Mary admits.

Although a part of her knows Itsuki is right, she's still hesitant to talk about the nightmares because she's almost certain Yumeko is the cause of it, too. She wouldn't be able to tell the whole truth without letting slip of their _intimacy_ together. Collectively, the loss of what-could-have-been with Yumeko resonates too closely to her situation with Tsuzura. The sudden loss is just too jarring on Mary that it must have culminated in these nightmares.

Alright, she didn't _really_ lose Yumeko. But the cold rejection of that morning still hurts when Mary thinks about it. For all intents and purposes, Mary definitely counts that as a loss.

"I thought you said we didn't have to talk about it," she grumbles from under the blanket.

"Yes, of course you don't," Itsuki confirms. "But I'm just saying, you know. Maybe...keeping all these feelings to yourself isn't exactly helping you."

She hates how right Itsuki can be.

"Even if I were to talk about it, I wouldn't really know where to start," she confesses, shrugging one shoulder.

"You can talk about anything. It doesn't have to be the nightmare. Like...what was your favorite thing to do with Tsuzura? Something you miss the most?"

 _Everything_ , Mary wants to say. Instead, she stays silent. There are so many things she misses about Tsuzura that words escape her.

"Maybe another time, Itsuki-san," Mary exhales.

"Right."

"No, listen, I appreciate all that you're doing, but," she takes a breath, "you've seen it for yourself. I'm not in the best state to rehash any more than I already have. I'm sorry, but I can't."

Itsuki nods solemnly, "I understand."

"I just want to get back to normal. Sleep in my own bed. And for more than a few hours at a time."

"Well, you're going to need an _actual_ bed to sleep in for that to happen, idiot," Itsuki chides.

"As soon as I start thinking you're a good friend, you go and say something like that," she says rolling her eyes.

"I'm just telling you like it is! Your bed hasn't been made in days, which means it barely counts as a bed. Thus, your 'bed' basically doesn't exist. _Logic,_ " she states, matter-of-factly. All Mary can do is glare at Itsuki's chin, which is all she can see of her at the angle she's currently slumped in. "After classes today, why don't we study in your dorm. I'll bring new sheets and _you_ are going to make _your_ bed, so _you_ can sleep in it tonight."

"If you want to kick me out, you should just say so," Mary rebukes, sticking out her tongue petulantly.

"Fine, get off your ass and out of my room, _senpai_ ," Itsuki replies mockingly. With an overly dramatic huff, she stands abruptly, snatching the poofy comforter they had been sharing along with her.

From her spot on the couch, Mary tries (and fails) to suppress a shiver and shouts at Itsuki's retreating form, "I take it all back, you're the _worst_ friend, _ever_!"

* * *

"It should be illegal how easy it is to swindle all this money from people."

"It is."

"What is?" Itsuki says, distractedly as she mentally counts her winnings.

" _It_ is illegal to swindle money from people," Mary answers dryly.

"Well, _obviously_ , I was joking," she reasons, unconvincingly. As they turn the last corner of the hallway that leads to Mary's bedroom, they nearly collide with someone passing by.

"Up to more trouble, Sumeragi-san?"

"Oh, Igarashi-senpai!" Itsuki exclaims, bowing her head slightly in apology. "What brings you here?"

Mary merely nods in acknowledgment of the student council secretary. Ever since the night of Tsuzura's disappearance, she doesn't trust anyone that can trust so fully in Kirari Momobami. Having been on the student council herself, she supposes she shouldn't trust Itsuki, either. However, she's never given her a reason to suspect anything, especially if her friendship these past few days has been anything to go by.

"I'm just going to go ahead Itsuki-san," Mary interrupts, taking the stack of bedding Itsuki was lugging for her.

"Ok, Saotome-senpai, I'll catch up with you," she chirps.

Ignoring the side-eye Sayaka gives her, Mary brushes past the pair and heads to her room.

 _Okay, Mary, you got this. It's just a bed, after all. All you have to do is face what you've been relentlessly avoiding for the past 72 hours. No big deal. Easy as pie,_ she tells herself.

Once she reaches her door, she clumsily maneuvers the blankets and sheets onto one arm and wrestles with the door knob until it gives way.

 _Just face your fea-_

"Ah, Saotome-sama!" Yumeko purrs, shaking a paw next to her face, "I've been waiting for you."

The pile of bed sheets unceremoniously drops from Mary's arms into a messy heap at her feet.

There, on her bedroom floor, Yumeko places one balled fist in front of the other, slowly crawling to where Mary stands in shock in the doorway. Her jaw is hanging absurdly wide as she gawks at the alluring sight. Her ears take in the 'clinking' sound that the silver band on her thumb produces as it makes contact with the floorboards, the noise growing louder as Yumeko creeps closer. Her eyes religiously follow the motion of her uniform skirt as it billows with a small _swish_ behind her. And when she looks in her eyes, they glow a deep red, burning as hot as the palpable tension in the air between them.

"Where have you been, Saotome-sama? I was getting _so, very_ lonely without you," Yumeko's voice, full of lust, drifts steadily higher from where she's perched on the floor like a snake being summoned by flute.

When they finally reach her ears and process in her mind, she absent-mindedly questions herself, _Where_ have _I been?_

Then it hits her, _Oh, god. Itsuki! She's going to walk in here any second now! Shit!_

In a split second, she snaps out of her Yumeko-induced trance and fumbles for the handle behind her. Once open, she slams the door shut and sets to race out into the hallway.

Luckily (well, _unluckily really_ ), she doesn't have to go far as the girl she's looking for is standing right outside, arm outstretched as if she were reaching for the door knob.

"Saotome-senpai," Itsuki gasps, her eyes full of surprise, "you scared me!"

Mary can only guess what her _own_ face looks like after seeing the sight she was ambushed with minutes earlier.

"You can't go inside!" she blurts.

"What? Why?" Itsuki scoffs, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I...um, I..." Mary scrambles for _any_ coherent thought, but the only thing running through her mind is the image of Yumeko waiting on the other side of the door.

"Don't be silly, I promised I would help you with this," she counters, making to step around the girl blocking the door.

"You can't!" She bursts out, following Itsuki's movement to obstruct her path. "I, um…" her mind struggles to find words among flashing images of red eyes, short skirts, and sheer stockings. _Say something!_

"You can't come in because this is someone I have to do on my own- no, SOMETHING! Something I have to do on my own!"

Itsuki snorts, shooting her a peculiar look, "You really are something else, Saotome-senpai."

She can only stare at the girl in silence, hoping that she doesn't push further about her slip-up.

"Fine, I get it. You want to do this alone. I'm okay with that," Itsuki relents, "but just know, that if you need any help in there, you can always call me."

Mary pulls the girl into a tight hug to hide the affronted look on her face.

"Trust me," she mutters, still locked in their embrace, "I don't think this is something you'd _want_ to help me with."

When they part, Itsuki places her hands on Mary's shoulders. "Have a good night, senpai. Try to get a good night's sleep!"

Mary plasters on what she hopes is a convincing smile and feebly waves a hand as Itsuki turns on her heel to leave for her bedroom.

"Holy crap," she wheezes through her mouth as soon as she's out of sight, "what the _hell_ is going on!?"

Taking a deep breath, she reluctantly turns back to her bedroom door bracing herself for whatever comes next.

The door swings open.

The room is...empty? But that _magnetism._ She can feel it pulling in her chest.

Yumeko steps out from behind the open door.

 _No, of course the room isn't empty,_ Mary berates herself, _nothing is ever that easy for you._

All at once, that airy, sensual voice is filling her left ear and a familiar hand slinks across the front of her blazer only stopping when it reaches her shoulder. "Was that Sumeragi-san that I heard outside?"

She grits her teeth, focusing on the bed in her room: a reminder of every excruciating feeling that Mary had to endure the past few days. It was a life-line that would keep her from succumbing to the temptation swirling around her.

"Oh, Saotome-sama, please don't tell me…" Yumeko trails off. The hand on her shoulder is inching downwards, a blazing hot palm coming to rest _just_ above her chest. Her breath catches.

 _You're supposed to be furious, Mary! She left you!_ Slowly, she rebuilds a protective layer around her heart made out of pure anger.

"Have you...replaced me so _quickly_?" Her hand closes over Mary's breast as she finishes.

Mary's lips part on instinct. " _Unh,"_ she reluctantly lets out a moan.

 _NO, snap out of it. You can't let her get to you._

"Please, Saotome-sama!" Yumeko pants, moving closer to face Mary full-on. "Please tell me what I've done wrong! What is it that Itsuki has that your _Mittens_ can't give you?"

 _Regret, remember? She regrets spending the night with you._

Her other hand moves to Mary's elbow and together, they leave a burning trail down the front of her body as she falls, _achingly slow_ , to her knees in front of Mary.

Yumeko's palms come to rest on the back of her thighs, cupping her bare skin as her red eyes bore into her own desire-filled eyes. "I promise to fix it, Saotome-sama…I'll fix it." Her breath whispers across the surface of her skin, leaving goose-bumps in their wake.

She's so close to giving in. It has been so long since they've been together in this way that the temptation is overwhelming. In a panic, she snaps her attention back to the bed across the room.

 _Focus, Mary. You can't give in. This is the same girl that teased you into believing there could be something more. The same girl who LEFT you, whispering words of regret as she left. Don't give i-_

 _Wait._

She furrows her brow, taking a second look at the room.

 _My bed…_

"My bed," she repeats aloud.

"Oh, _yes_ Master," Yumeko drawls as she hurries to perch herself on the bed.

The sound of shuffling hands and legs on the floor breaks Mary out of her daze. "No! No, I meant _my bed._ Why are there sheets on it?"

She didn't notice it at first of course, being distracted by the seductress who was now lounging across her bed would do that. But now that she's somewhat alert, she sees that there are _definitely_ new sheets spread across her bed.

"Oh! Are you pleased, Saotome-sama? When I came back after that-um, one morning," she falters slightly at the words, but recovers quickly, "I noticed your sheets were gone. I wanted to be a good house pet and replace them for you."

Mary is simply out of words. _This whole time, Yumeko had already made my bed for me? She took the time to actually do this? Wait, even more surprising, she came back after all that talk about regrets?_

In hindsight, she hasn't even been to her room _once_ since that morning. Had she returned to her dorm for even one second she would have seen what Yumeko had left for her.

"What…? You...you actually did this?" She watches as Yumeko daintily nods her head in confirmation.

Mary's jaw is starting to hurt from how much she's been hanging it open. She's so _fucking_ exhausted. All of this information is just too much for her to handle.

She walks over to the bed, disregarding her rules about outside clothes on the bed, and crumbles on the soft bedding. Her head falls heavily onto the palms of her hands. As soon as she plops onto the bed, a puff of Yumeko's scent fills her nostrils.

"The bed smells like you," she mumbles under her breath.

Mary must have said it louder than intended because Yumeko hesitantly replies softly, "Oh. Well...I hope you don't mind, but…" _Is she blushing?_ Mary is bewildered. _This night just keeps getting weirder and weirder._

"I...was waiting for you to come back to your room, but...you never came," the girl finishes somberly, picking at the fabric of the blanket underneath her. "It would always be so late when I realized you weren't coming, so...I would fall asleep waiting for you here, in bed."

... _and more weirder._

Her forehead is wrinkled in confusion and her eyes are barely focused.

"That one night?"

"No," she pauses, " _every_ night. At dawn, I would return back to my room to get ready for classes."

Mary is baffled. _None of this...makes sense. This can't be true… Yumeko was so against_ whatever _happened between us that morning. There's no way…_ Her internal ramblings are interrupted by temptation, once again.

"I was waiting for you for so long," Yumeko whines, sliding her hand over to Mary's exposed knee. Her fingers drift upwards, coming to rest just under the hem of her skirt. "Now that you're finally here, we can make up for lost time."

At Yumeko's smirk, something in Mary snaps.

The exhaustion, confusion, bitterness, and lust catch up to her like an avalanche and she lashes out, grabbing Yumeko's wrist where it rests on her thigh. In one fluid motion, she pounces on the girl and straddles her torso, pinning both wrists above the girl's head.

Yumeko's hips buck harshly at the breathtaking display of power, but Mary ignores it in the pursuit of much-needed answers.

"What do you _want_ from me," Mary growls.

She giggles. "Saotome-sama, I think you know what I want from you," she replies cheekily.

" _Stop!_ I've had enough of these fucking _games_!" Mary yells.

Yumeko stares in silence at her outburst. It seems that the seriousness of her tone has finally registered.

"What do you mean, Mary-san?" Yumeko answers, clearing her throat.

"What is it that we're _doing_ , Yumeko?" Mary grits out, letting go of her hold on her wrists.

"I...thought we were on the same page, Mary-san," Yumeko says as she leans up on her elbows. "We...benefit from each other's... _pleasures._ "

"That's...all?" Mary says in a small voice.

"I'm your house pet and you're my master," Yumeko recites. "Plain and simple, no? _You're_ the one who made those rules, Mary-san."

"Which _you_ broke," Mary points out. "Something...changed that night. You _know_ it did." She's looking intently into Yumeko's eyes, watching for any flicker of recognition at her words.

Although she doesn't catch anything, she pushes forward.

"It's like some crazy rollercoaster with you!" She can hear her voice begin to shake, but she can't stop now. Everything is starting to pour out of her mouth uncontrollably. "We were _supposed_ to play our roles: house pet and master. But then suddenly, it's _sleepovers_ and _cuddling_? What do you expect me to think, Yumeko?!"

Despite her literally sitting in her lap, Yumeko tries to avoid eye contact with Mary.

"No! Look at me, Yumeko!" Mary spits furiously.

Submissively, Yumeko brings her eyes back to the girl straddling her.

"You left me _alone_ that morning, ignored me during the day, and _now_ , now you're here being jealous of _Itsuki_ of all people and telling me that you've been waiting for me to come back to bed! To _my_ bed!"

"Well, what am _I_ supposed to think, Mary-san!?" Yumeko roars, eyes flashing red with fury this time, instead of lust.

Mary is taken aback. This is the most display of emotion she's ever witnessed from the girl.

"You spent _three whole days_ with Itsuki! What am _I_ supposed to think when I see you walking out of _her_ room at the crack of dawn?!"

' _Walking out of_ her _room'?_ Her mind races to keep up with everything that's being said. _Is it...the first night I spent at Itsuki's?_ Distantly, she remembers seeing someone rush into their room and a glint of sparkling light before the door closed.

Mary picks up Yumeko's hand that adorns her signature ring on her thumb. _The light must have reflected on her ring before the door closed._

"...That was you?"

Yumeko's face is contorted in aggravation.

"I wasn't ignoring you, Mary-san. You were avoiding _me,_ " she accuses. "You thought I wouldn't notice, right? But every time I approached you, you would turn away and hide your face from me."

Mary can't even deny it. She _was_ avoiding her.

"I thought that you would at least talk to me as your friend. But yesterday, you _ran_ from me. You ran away from me and took comfort in Itsuki's arms!"

"In this room, you don't even let me hug you or kiss you or see you without clothes. But I _know_ you Mary-san, and you letting Itsuki comfort you like _that_ is more vulnerable than being naked."

The words settle heavily on Mary's heart, beating down the protective layer she tried to built with anger she had towards Yumeko. Now though, she's realizing that the anger is unfounded. She never once thought that Yumeko would notice, let alone care. But she noticed _everything_.

"Then why…" Mary swallows, scared to hear the answer to her next question, "...Why did you say _that_ in the morning?"

Yumeko's mouth twitches at that. _Ah,_ there's that recognition she was watching for.

"I thought you were asleep," she whispers.

Mary shakes her head.

"I couldn't face you after hearing what you said, Yumeko-san," Mary confesses. "These past three days with Itsuki...I have been trying to protect myself from _whatever-the-hell_ this is that's going on between us."

She shifts uncomfortably on Yumeko's lap, hyper-aware of their positioning for the first time during the whole conversation. Leaning to the right to remove most of her weight from Yumeko's torso, she locks eyes with the girl she's been avoiding this week.

"Yumeko-san," Mary pleads. "What do you want from me?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

" _Yumeko-san," Mary pleads. "What do you want from me?"_

The air feels gravely tense, like any slight movement between the two of them could shatter the illusion of what they've been building in this room. So many nights spent in this dorm, on this very bed, where their actions overpowered the need for words. In the midst of their passion, it didn't seem to matter. But now, with no curtain of lust to hide behind, they were both at a loss. She takes care to formulate her response cautiously. Yumeko knows that no matter what she says next, or more likely, _what she doesn't say next,_ things are going to change.

She's been silent for several moments now, blankly staring at the spot on Mary's shoulder just to the left of her neck. Fleetingly, she wonders if Itsuki was given the chance to see the bite mark she proudly left there days ago. They certainly had enough alone time together. It was difficult not to notice how the pair had been inseparable as of late. She was certain the whole student body noticed their newly established "friendship", _if_ that's even what it was...

 _Itsuki Sumeragi_ …

Overall, Yumeko's impression of the girl was of _disappointment_. They had played such a promising game of Double Concentration together up until the girl had yielded so readily. It was her first gamble against a member of the infamous Hyakkaou student council, so she had expected a formidable challenge. Something to _really_ test the capacities of her mind. And with the added risk of physical endangerment? Yumeko couldn't ask for more.

Yet, Itsuki failed (and failed terribly, she might add) to impress her. It was glaringly obvious from the start that the heiress had a ruse in play for their little game. She wasn't just an heiress to any old company, she was an heiress to a _toy_ company. One that could easily manufacture decks of cards that would place the girl at an advantage. All Yumeko had to do was determine what advantage that was.

And she did.

Like she said, it was a disappointment _._

Yumeko doesn't understand what Mary would find so appealing in such a boring girl like Itsuki.

The girl in question was still waiting for her answer. _It could wait_ , she thinks, deciding to drag out the silence a little longer. After all, she _had_ waited three days for Mary.

 _Three days of waiting, for what? A lecture?_ Yumeko hopes it wasn't all for nothing. She is craving the commandeering Mary that could reduce her to a writhing mess.

Yumeko's eyes trail over the hands that had pinned her down so demandingly moments ago. They skim up the length of the arms that subtly flexed under her school-issued blazer when she pressed down forcefully on Yumeko's wrists. Then slowly, she drinks in the sight of creamy skin exposed below the hem of her uniform skirt. Despite the tense situation, the way she is loosely straddled across Yumeko's body leaves a smoldering fire simmering in her belly.

With an inward frown, she does a double-take at Mary's uniform. It appears _different_ , somehow _._

Where the white button-up shirt and blazer usually maintained a tailored fit as it lay over her shoulders and chest, they now _pull_ across her breasts as if it were a size too small. Her skirt was shorter, too, wickedly teasing Yumeko to what lay underneath. Had Mary's uniform shrunk in the laundry?

It was then that she noticed the most apparent disparity of her usual clothing. Yumeko had undressed Mary enough times to notice that the girl only owned trouser socks. The kind that stopped just under the divots of her delicate kneecaps.

The ones she was wearing right now? Definitely not trouser socks, but _thigh-highs_. Thigh-highs adorned with two white stars on each side of the upper leg. The same ones that Itsuki Sumeragi wears.

 _Ah, I see. They're sharing wardrobes now. Well then,_ Yumeko purses her lips, _I guess Sumeragi-san_ did _get to see my not-so-little mark, after all._

The realization stokes the burning fire in her belly and yet, simultaneously sends an unfamiliar and unexpectedly _strong_ pang through her chest.

 _It's not your place, Yumeko. Stick to the plan._

The heat emanating from Mary's thigh-high clad legs where they're laying across her stomach is enticing, _to say the least,_ but she can only deflect with the pretense of desire for so long.

Yumeko inhales, flicking her solemn eyes to Mary's before letting out a deep sigh.

"Mary-san...it's complicated."

The reaction is instantaneous.

" _Pathetic_ ," Mary spits back immediately, jerking her body sideways and away from Yumeko.

The loss of her body heat is a shock to Yumeko's skin.

 _If only she knew,_ Yumeko laments, _it isn't that simple_.

On the outside, her features remain stoic, unaffected by Mary's response. But internally? Every part of her body wants to recoil, stung by the harsh tone directed at her. Although, now that she has had a moment to think, it is easy to hold her true emotions back.

Her uncle taught her better than to erupt like she had moments before. He would have been disappointed.

Distantly, Mary's query flashes in her mind like a pesky, malfunctioning neon light: _What do you want from me?_

What does Yumeko want?

 _It's not a matter of want, Mary-san. It's a matter of need. And I need..._

 _...to protect you._

But she couldn't say that. At least, not without telling her _everything._ And that was just not part of the plan.

Truthfully, it was wholly unfair that she was put on the spot with such a loaded question. This was not something she was prepared to answer with a brooding girl sprawled across her lap staring daggers into her eyes. She had planned to find Mary back in her dorm room, ready to be seduced like any other night. Instead, it was _this_.

"It's complicated," Mary scoffs, shaking her head at the sentiment. "Of course."

Throwing an accusatory glance her way, she continues, "Tell me, is it too _complicated_ to explain how you knew Itsuki-san comforted me yesterday? You seem to know more than just the fact that she followed after me. So, explain."

Admittedly, these past few days Yumeko had been... _sloppy_. The blatant avoidance on Mary's part had caused Yumeko to tailspin, leading to her stray from her usual routine. If she was going to stick to the plan, part of it meant always having eyes on Mary during her stay at Hyakkaou.

Before class, Mary would purposely "nap" at her desk until the lesson started. After class, the girl would pack her belongings faster than their sensei could dismiss them, rushing out the door without another word. During meal times, she would sit at a separate table with Itsuki, non-verbally shutting out herself and Suzui. Then, at night, she wouldn't even return to her room.

For three nights, she had left Yumeko waiting alone in Mary's dorm aching for the sweet release her body had become accustomed to. On the first night, she had nearly worked herself into a carnal stupor while she prepared Mary's bed with fresh, new sheets. With every layer she secured to the mattress, Yumeko would fantasize all the ways her master would reward her kitten upon the discovery of her efforts. By the time the bed was made, all she desired was for Mary to completely _ruin_ all her handiwork and fuck her until the sheets needed fixing again.

She would have re-done them happily.

But Mary never returned.

Instead of being ravished on those fresh blankets, Yumeko succumbed to exhaustion from waiting for the girl and would curl up under the covers. Then, during the day, she would be ignored by said girl. The cycle persisted for three days. Alone. Ignored. Alone. Ignored. _Alone._

It was _troublesome._ There never seemed to be a time to catch the girl when she was by herself, which forced Yumeko to think of other ways to meet with her.

So when Mary had run from the gambling table yesterday, Yumeko had no choice but to follow. She was about to turn a corner when she caught sight of blonde hair rushing to the school's garden through a large window. Her vantage point on the third floor allowed her to see every second of it. Itsuki's head on Mary's shoulder, their arms intertwined, a romantic walk underneath the moonlight...then later, the tender moment they shared on the bench. She had to watch with disdainful eyes as Mary's body language revealed raw emotion after raw emotion. All to some heiress she had deemed worthy enough to open up to. And when they reached for each other's hands… Yumeko had seen enough.

 _Stick to the plan,_ she repeats to herself, snapping into focus. _This will only work if you stick to the plan._

"Lucky guess," Yumeko lies, raising her steady gaze to meet Mary's.

" _Bullshit_. You expect me to believe that after all you just threw in my face?!"

She internally cringes, thinking back to everything she had revealed to Mary in the short time they had been reunited. It was never her intention for the girl to have riled her up so quickly. In her shock at being accused so spitefully, she had let loose all the thoughts she had retained during the time she was so brazenly avoided by Mary. It was a stupid mistake that Yumeko really shouldn't have made.

 _Too much talking Yumeko, stick to the plan._

Oh, how she so wanted to just skip all this petty arguing and get to the _sex_. One of the things that drew Yumeko back to Mary's room was how they both seemed to express themselves more accurately through body language.

She knew that if they were just to get past the _talking_ , Yumeko would be able to explain herself much more clearly than how she is now.

But from the tone of the conversation, it was apparent that Mary was unconcerned with Yumeko's lust. The initial shock Mary had experienced upon seeing her on the floor had given her the upper hand. She had been able to captivate her for a short time, but eventually, she had lost her in favor of talking _feelings._

In recent days, she had noticed the changes, the small inflections in Mary's orders towards her _kitten_ that hinted at genuine affection. The lingering touches of their foreplay. The heated stares from Mary when she would work her into a powerful orgasm.

In reality, they were miniscule, really. They were barely noticeable shifts in Mary's behavior that to anyone else would probably be overlooked.

But Yumeko isn't just _anyone._ To her, they rang loud and clear.

The real fault was when instead of rejecting those changes, Yumeko welcomed them. She embraced them and let her... _curiosity_ take control of her actions. Because of it, she gave into the urge to stay that one night. Instead of departing from Mary like usual, she stayed in that bed silently (foolishly) wondering if Mary would join her. _That_ night had changed everything.

She didn't join her at first, acting like a confused little puppy walking in circles behind her while Yumeko feigned sleep in bed. Yumeko's inquisitiveness got the best of her. She wanted to know what it would be like to sleep in those deceptively strong arms of hers. Hane-san had spoken so highly of them, after all.

And Mary, her _silly_ silly Mary had indulged her.

The way she unceremoniously shoved Yumeko into a more suitable sleeping position then in the _same breath_ , delicately stripped off her thigh-high stockings had only deepened her interest that was steadily growing for the girl.

Mary was like a living contradiction. Hot, then cold. Soft, then hard. Sour, then sweet. Yumeko began to crave her like a rare commodity that could only be found underneath the many layers that Mary refused to let her peel back.

She became greedy that day, coaxing Mary to reveal more of her true self as the night went on. She teased her, enticed her to touch and please her once more. And true to form, Mary had delivered. Every caress, every stroke from those hands felt _different_ than any other time they had been together.

She had let herself fall into the fantasy.

By the time their orgasms had subsided that night, Yumeko had let her guard down allowing the all-encompassing warmth from Mary's embrace to convince her that nothing had changed between them.

That warmth only lasted until the next morning.

She recalls waking up to Mary's slumbering form barely a centimeter away from her own.

Everything that Hane-san had described of the slumbering girl held true. Yumeko was finally able to see what she meant for herself. She remembers tracing her hand across those peaceful features in front of her, recalling the accuracy of a girl's words in her mind.

" _Oh and when she sleeps," the girl giggles, hiding a timid smile behind her hand, "she always puts her hair in a braid, because if she doesn't, she wakes up with a crazy nest on her head!"_

 _The usually-demure girl is lost in another world; lost in her memories of the girl she cares so deeply about. There is fondness laced intricately in every story that she relays to Yumeko. She never once mentions to her that they were_ more _than friends, but the implications were more than obvious._

 _She's playing with tendrils of her long, midnight blue hair staring at the wallpaper behind Yumeko's head, probably picturing Mary's wild mane. "I taught her how to braid her hair, actually. She never was shown how," a steadying breath rattles from the girl's chest. "I even cut her bangs for her. If I didn't, they would always fall over her eyes. ...And those eyes? They were my favorite. I could never let them be covered up like that. Never."_

The girl's soft, timid voice filled with such love and affection for Mary had rung painfully in her ears. It was in that moment that Yumeko had froze in place, her hand hovering over the very bangs that Tsuzura had claimed to have trimmed herself.

This was wrong. This was _very_ wrong.

 _What have I done?_

She had made extra care to whisper the words, so as to not wake the other girl, but apparently, Mary had heard them all the same. She might as well have been shouting the words by the way they seem to have affected Mary. It had affected her so much that she avoided her for three days.

She had underestimated just how much Mary's separation anxiety had developed. She had underestimated just how much Tsuzura's sudden departure had affected her.

 _That morning_ , she decided that she couldn't continue teasing Mary that they were _more_ than what they were, knowing all she knows about Tsuzura.

Yumeko was absolutely fine with the fact that they were fucking out of pure attraction to one another. Although morally questionable, it fulfilled the part of the plan where she was to keep "close tabs" on the girl. Coincidentally, this part of the plan was left to Yumeko's discretion; something to figure out once she got to Hyakkaou.

She's pretty confident that spending every night under the watchful command of Mary definitely counts as keeping "close tabs".

However, as soon as they crossed the line from _casual sex buddies_ to _cuddle buddies_ , she should have stopped.

But of course, Yumeko didn't. She gave into her urges fully knowing they weren't one-sided.

And now that Mary was confronting her with the the possibility of a relationship beyond the bedroom, Yumeko couldn't enable those thoughts.

But therein lies the whole problem. If she were to tell Mary that she doesn't have feelings for her beyond desire, that everything that had happened _that night_ was pure delusion, she is one-hundred percent _certain_ that the girl will freeze her out. She will go back to avoiding Yumeko like she had for the past three days.

And if she were to do that, Yumeko cannot carry on the plan that Tsuzura and herself had meticulously toiled over together.

Of all the absurd and irrational gambles she's had in Hyakkaou, _this_ was a risk that she is not willing to take.

With her decision finally made, Yumeko boldly resumes her stance on all-fours and crawls once again towards the glowering girl. The bed creaks with every drag of her knees and palms on the soft surface. She doesn't stop until she's hovering over Mary, hands on either side of the girl's shoulders with her knees planted next to her hips.

To her smug satisfaction, Mary doesn't waver. Instead, she cocks an unamused eyebrow at Yumeko's antics and crosses her arms over her chest.

"I'm sick of the silent treatment, Yumeko-san," Mary sneers while scanning the girl's face. "What makes you think I want to _play_ , right n-"

Yumeko has had enough with all this inane talking.

Her lips cover Mary's in a firm kiss, effectively stunning the girl into silence.

"Everything," Yumeko hisses against her lips. "I want _everything_ , Mary-san."


End file.
